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Trump Revamps Campaign; Australia to Close Manus Detention Center; North Korean Diplomat Defects to South Korea; Son of El Chapo Kidnapped in Puerto Vallarta

Aired August 17, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

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


ANDREW STEVENS, HOST: I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, welcome to News Stream.

Shutting down: one of Australia's controversial offshore detention centers is to close as asylum seekers now face an uncertain future.

A major defection: one of North Korea's top diplomats defects to the South. We've got a live report just ahead.

And changes at Team Trump: the Republican presidential nominee revamps his campaign staff less than three months before the election.

We begin in the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea. The future of more than 800

asylum seekers there is now in limbo after Australia agreed to close the Manus island detention center.

For four years now, Australia has been putting refugees in offshore facilities like this one, that's despite repeated reports of abuse,

including many involving children.

Australia has already said it won't take any of those asylum seekers, so it's likely they're

either be resettled elsewhere or sent home.

A refugee there tells us how he feels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZIZ, REFUGEE IN MANUS ISLAND DETTENTION CENTER: We've been here for about three years. They offer 1,000 dollars by the Australia government, like

20,000 to go back to our country where we come from.

But they realize that we do not have an option to go back, because I can't go back no matter how much you pay for me, because my life is in danger. I

fled the persecutions and I came asking for a safety place, but you prosecute me and you send me, first of all, to a remote island where it is

really far away from the outer world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Now this comes just hours after a call for action from more than 100 former and current staff at Australia's detention camps. They say

children's lives are being destroyed, and all refugees should be moved immediately.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Refugees described the conditions as hell on Earth. Reports of sexual assault, child

abuse and self-immolation plagued Australia's offshore detention centers on the Pacific island of

Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

In an unprecedented move, a statement by current and former employees from both facilities

details the abuse and neglect of refugees, calling for them to be resettled in mainland Australia immediately.

Signatories ranging from doctors to social workers claim they can't stay silent any longer as previous attempts to report abuses, they say, have

gone unnoticed.

And it comes less than a week after The Guardian newspaper leaked more than 2,000 documents detailing reports of disturbing cases on Nauru. The

government there denies those claims, calling them fabricated, and unfounded.

The centers have long been the highly controversial centerpiece of Australia's tough asylum seeker policy. When they were opened, the

government of the day insisted it was to stop a huge influx of asylum seekers making the perilous journey south on smuggler boats. Right now,

more than 1,200 are being detained across both Manus and Nauru.

In a surprise move, Wednesday, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said in a

statement that, quote, both Papua New Guinea and Australia are in agreement that the center is to be closed.

But Australia has made it explicitly clear no one will be resettled on the mainland, meaning the hundreds held in Manus still have a very uncertain

future ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Now earlier I spoke with Tara Pollock. She's a former caseworker at the Nauru

Detention Center. And I started by asking her for her thoughts about the closure of the Manus island facility.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TARA POLLOCK, FORMERLY WITH SAVE THE CHILDREN: At the closure of Manus island is not a surprise. The PNG high court had ruled that the detention

of the asylum seekers was unconstitutional. So, this is not a decision that Australia has come to of its own volition. This is court ordered from

the high court of PNG.

STEVENS: And what in that case do you think should happen to the asylum seekers and refugees on Manus island?

POLLOCK: Our stance has been that the asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island have been subject to detrimental treatment, at the hands of

Australian government policy, so it's Australia's responsibility to bring them here and to offer them fair opportunity and rehabilitation and some

safe processing.

STEVENS: You are one of more than 100 people who've worked on either Nauru or Manus Island. Having seen the conditions there firsthand. You want to

resettle the asylum seekers and refugees back in Australia, but why couldn't they stay there if there was better conditions? If there was

better, stronger supervision of what's happening in those detention centers?

POLLOCK: Longtime resettlement for asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru has not ever been tabled as an option. The government of Nauru has always

had a time limit on how many years that they could stay within the country.

Aside from that, there is very little by way of economic opportunities, employment, educational opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees in

Nauru let alone to the local Nauruans.

The women and the children and the families report feeling extremely unsafe, and the subject of racial attacks, of physical attacks. There has

been reports and incidents of rape and sexual assault, physical assault, that is investigated by the government of Nauru to know -- to no end.

The people in the refugee centers in Nauru do not feel safe. The incident reports and the information, the medical reports that the Australian

government has access to details and shows the consequences of people in Nauru.

STEVENS: Now the Nauru government itself says that many of these allegations, which you refer to, are false. In their own words they've

been cooked up. The Australian immigration minister says that they have also been many false claims.

Have you seen acts, have you seen examples of what has been happening on the island, these cases of abuse firsthand?

POLLOCK: Absolutely. I have seen cases firsthand when I was on the island. I have seen children and adults who have self-harmed, who have

hurt themselves. I've spoken to people who have been assaulted in the camps, and assaulted on the island. These are not a fabrication, these are

incident reports that were completed by professionals whilst conducting their duties in the offshore processing detention center. It's a part of

their obligation and employment, it's a legal obligation to complete an incident report when you observe anything that goes on in the camp, when

you observe or you were informed of an event that has occurred within the camp.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: And that was former Nauru caseworker Tara Pollock speaking to me a little earlier there.

South Korea says a top North Korean diplomat has defected. He's been identified as Thae Yoeng-ho, North Korea's second highest ranking diplomat

and its embassy in the United Kingdom.

Seoul says that he, his wife and his children are now under the protection of the South Korean government.

Well let's get more now on this new development. CNN's David Molko joins us from Syongju (ph) in South Korea.

David, what can you tell us about the details surrounding this defection?

DAVID MOLKO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andrew, the details just coming in over the last couple of hours at a press conference with the South Korean

Unification Ministry. What's interesting, as well, is they are saying Mr. Thae is actually in South Korea now with his wife and children. They are

not saying what route he took to get here, or any details about his children or about his family, but they are saying that he is here in South

Korea, in the country, calling him the number two official at the North Korean embassy in the UK.

The big question, Andrew, right now of course is why, why would a senior level diplomat defect

from North Korea? We can speculate about that. But in a statement, the South Korean Unification Ministry said simply, quote, "we understand that

Thae said he defected because he was tired of Kim Jong-un's regime, and because of respect of the democratic system of South Korea, his children,

and his future."

So that's the line as you have from the South Korean Unification Ministry. I don't think we're going to hear much more from them. They're going to be

pretty closed-lid on this, including what's happening to Mr. Thae right now, though we can assume, given his ranking, that intelligence services

are interviewing him.

Andrew, no response yet from North Korea. It will be interesting to see how they interpret this

defection, and how they characterize it to the rest of the world.

STEVENS: Yeah, absolutely. I've seen it reported that one of the last times that Mr. Thae

has been seen in public was lecturing the British on their corrupt system, and how wonderful the North Korean system is.

So this obviously given his rank, David, is very embarrassing for the North Korean government.

MOLKO: And that's just it, Andrew, it's a huge embarrassment for the North Koreans. And by the same token, on the other side of the coin, excuse me,

a huge propaganda victory for the South Koreans, not to mention in terms of intelligence, and in terms of political value.

Andrew, just for some context here, of course defectors from North Korea to South Korea not unusual. The number, we're told from the Unification

Ministry roughly 1,200 to 1,500 a year. But what is unusual, as you mentioned, is to have an official at such a senior level. The last time we

know of an official potentially of this stature was back in April of this year, the Unification Ministry described that person as a senior North

Korean intelligence officer. We haven't heard any more about that person since -- Andrew.

STEVENS: David, thanks very much for that. David Molko staying on the story for us, on the defection of that high ranking North Korean. We'll

have more from David later throughout the day.

Brazil is headed into day 12 of the Olympic games with some huge victories and stunning losses, as well. The country experienced football heartbreak

after its women's team lost its shot at gold in Tuesday's semifinal against Sweden after an agonizing penalty shoot-out.

But Brazil's spirits were lifted when beach volleyball duo Barbara and Agatha beat the impressive U.S. pair. And they'll battle Germany for the

gold a little later on Wednesday.

Let's go to CNN's Amanda Davies now who is covering all the sporting drama at Copacabana Beach and beyond that as well.

Amanda, let's just start, though, with the highs and the lows for Brazil.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, it was a huge day for the hosts yesterday. Thiago Braz da Silva, the 22-year-old who had won pole vaulting

gold in such a surprising manner on Monday had said that he hoped his victory would help inspire the Brazilian team to really climb up the

medal table in these last few days of competition here in Rio. And it certainly seems to have done the job.

They got their first ever Gold in Boxing, thanks to Robson Conceicao. He won lightweight boxing gold on a unanimous points decision yesterday. So,

that's now three gold medals for the hosts. And, as you said, it was a huge day for them just down the beach from here along Copacabana in both

the men's and women's volleyball.

It was a Brazil versus USA in the semifinals. Brazil won both in terms of the men and the women. As you said, Agatha and Barbara beating Kerry

Walsh-Jennings of three Olympic gold medals. It was her first defeat in 27 Olympic matches, with a new partner this time around, of coruse, in terms

of April Ross.

But that was a huge shock, one that was celebrated wildly by the fans here.

The men's world number one pairing of Cerutti and Schmidt also went through for Brazil. So the women's final later today, the men's final we will see

later on Wednesday.

But heartbreak, or the flip side of this coin, of course, as you said, in terms of the football. there was some really high hopes that the women's

football team were going to produce Brazil's first-ever Olympic football gold. They'd beaten Sweden so comprehensively in the pool stages, but then

just couldn't do it on the penalty kicks.

Their manager said they really owe the Brazilian fans, the people something, because they feel they've really let them down.

The men, though, have the chance to go one further. At lunch time here back at the Maracana stadium -- they, of course, led by Barcelona superstar

Neymar -- look to book their place in the final when they take on Honduras.

STEVENS: Yeah, hope they can do a little bit better than the World Cup performance. What was it was 7-1 loss to Germany?

Tell, what's been catching eyes here?

DAVIES: They don't want you reminding them of that, Andrew.

STEVENS: I won't be the only one.

I want to tell you about -- you've probably seen it, but certainly catching a lot of eyes here. China, by its own admission, having a pretty miserable

Olympics standards. There's been a tweet from Xinhua. Now Xinhua, for our vieweres, is the state news agency of China.

Take a look at that picture. That's a picture of Yo Hao (ph), gymnast, flat on his back after he fell off the parallel bars. The line was that

basically China's having a bit of an Olympic flop.

What's going on?

DAVIES: It's not just a head line, either actually. When you look at the stats and the figures, Andrew, that is very much the case. China are

having their worst Olympics for two decades, despite the fact that they've got their largest-ever team, some 416 athletes here in Rio.

Their favored sports, the likes of diving, badminton, gymnastics -- gymnastics, particularly embodies the problems that they're having. In

Beijing, of course, hosting the Olympic Games in 2008, the gymnasts won 11 golds. In London, they won 5, and they failed to win a single gold here in

Rio.

They did take home one silver, and four bronzes, as well, but certainly not the high standards that China and their fans have come to expect.

But I have to say, Andrew, a note of positive, they're not on their own in this. I remember talking to Ian Thorpe, the Australian swimmer in London.

And he was talking about the disappointments of the Australian team. And he was talking about the cycle of countries post-hosting an Olympic games.

And what -- there is a known trend that two Olympic games after you've hosted, there's generally a dip.

The first Olympics after you've hosted you're still on the upsurge, the investment is there, the momentum is there. And then the worrying times

are after that how to keep it going.

So for team GB doing so well this games, of course, the next one is the one that they need to be worrying about.

STEVENS: What a fascinating statistic. The curse of the games two games on. I'll remember that one.

Thanks for that Amanda.

Amanda Davies there joining us live from Rio.

And make sure you stay with us for all your Rio coverage. That is where we are at the moment. The medal collection, as you can see the U.S., has a

pretty commanding lead, 28 gold medals. Great Britain, look at that 19 golds. China is in there, as it says, by its own admission it's not a

great run, but for me I'd be pretty happy with that, 17 gold.

Rounding out the top five, russia and Germany with 12 and 11 respectively.

By the way, the U.S. also has a solid lead in the total number of medals with 84, 34 more than GB.

Now, after the break another overhaul in Donald Trump's campaign. Who's he bringing on board and why? We'll have that just ahead.

Plus, gunmen abduct a group of diners from a popular restaurant at a Mexican resort. And now we learned that one of those kidnapped was

actually the son of an infamous drug kingpin.

Plus, fighting drugs in The Philippines: the new president launches a crackdown there, but some say his tactics are too brutal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Welcome back. That's a view looking across Victoria Harbor to downtown Hong

Kong on a pretty clear night.

Welcome back, you're watching News Stream.

The Russian military has said that bombers operating out of Iran have struck two ISIS command

centers, and a large training field in syria. It says 150 militants were killed, but U.S. officials are not happy that Russia is using an air base

in Iran to carry out those attacks.

The U.S. believes the UN security council resolution prohibits Russian warplanes from using the Iranian airbase.

Well, let's bring in our senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen now. He has reported extensively on the war against ISIS. He is

currently in Berlin.

Fred, why is Russia making this move to use Iranian bases now?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Andrew. Well, first of all the Russians have already reacted to the fact that the U.S.

said that they might be violating a UN resolution with the use of that Iranian air base. They say they believe that there's no basis for such

assertion.

But I think that there's generally two reasons why the Russians are doing it at this point in time. First of all, a closer military cooperation

between the Russians and the Iranians has been in the works for awhile. The two sides signed an agreement in January for closer military

cooperation. And a senior member of Iran's security council said yesterday that the two sides were in understanding that they would share each other's

facilities for what they call fighting terrorism.

So this is something that's been in the works for awhile, at least the groundwork for which has been in the works for awhile.

But then on the other hand, we also have to see that the military situation on the ground, especially around Aleppo, hasn't been very good for the

Iranians, the Russians, and of course, Bashar al-Assad's army as well. They've been beaten back in parts of Aleppo where the rebels managed to

break the siege. And even after Russian air strikes were taking place there, the rebels still managed to at least hold their ground, and even

advance in some places.

So it seems as though the Russians are trying to accelerate their air campaign, and that they believe that these bases in Iran, or this base in

Iran, is a necessity for that.

Now the targets that they struck today apparently are near Deir ez-Zor, so that's more ISIS territory. But the U.S. says -- and the Russians also

acknowledge -- that they did strike targets around Aleppo and Idlib, as well, where of course there is no ISIS. There's a U.S.-backed rebel

groups, there's also Jabaat al-Nusra, which of course was affiliated with al Qaeda.

One of the things that the U.S. is saying is that they are calling on Russia to curb their air campaign because of the many civilian casualties

that we've seen in the past weeks.

STEVENS: Fred, thanks very much for that. Fred Pleitgen joining us live from Berlin.

Now, Donald Trump has announced his second major staff overawl in less than two months. He's named a new campaign manager and a chief executive to

oversea his struggling campaign. It follows weeks of negative headlines, plus dropping poll numbers for Trump.

He's trailing Hillary Clinton in nearly every key battleground state now. Well, CNN's Jessica Schneider is live at Trump Tower in New York with more

details on that. And Jessica, who is he bringing in? And how is his campaign likely to change as a result?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donald Trump's campaign definitely needs a change. They've seen sagging poll numbers in key swing

states over the past few weeks. But Donald Trump released in a statement this morning saying he will do whatever it takes to win. And he's touting

his two new appointments as people who love to win and people who know how to win.

Interestingly, he's also talking about the new appointment of this CEO, a man named Steve Bannon and he's saying -- Donald Trump is saying -- that

that appointment will further bolster the business-like approach that he has already taken to this campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Donald Trump shaking up his campaign leadership team again, for the second time in two months.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER/NEW TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: People want to criticize Donald Trump...

SCHNEIDER: Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway confirming that she has been promoted to campaign manager. And the executive chairman of Breitbart News,

Steve Bannon, is now the campaign's chief executive.

The campaign's embattled chairman, Paul Manafort, will stay on, despite his relationship with Trump going sour in recent weeks.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The campaign is doing really well. It's never been so well united.

PAUL MANAFORT, OUTGOING TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Trump is very plugged in. He's very connected. The campaign is working, contrary to what the media is

saying.

SCHNEIDER: Manafort is under investigation by Ukrainian authorities for allegedly receiving millions in illegal payments from the country's former

pro-Russian ruling party.

This is the second major shake-up for Trump's team. Back in June, he fired Corey Lewandowski weeks before the Republican convention.

TRUMP: He's a good man. We've had great success. He's a friend of mine. But I think it's time now for a different kind of a campaign.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR/FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: I had a nice conversation with Mr. Trump, and -- and I said to

him, "It's been an honor and privilege to be part of this."

SCHNEIDER: The news comes as Trump tries to appeal to black voters in Wisconsin, but the audience was mostly white.

TRUMP: I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different and much better future.

SCHNEIDER: Trump addressing the violent protests in Milwaukee, after police shot and killed a black man Saturday.

TRUMP: Those pedaling the narrative of cops as a racist force in our society, a narrative supported with a nod by my opponent, share directly in

the responsibility for the unrest in Milwaukee and many other places within our country.

SCHNEIDER: He's placing the blame for inner city unrest squarely on what he calls failed Democratic policies.

TRUMP: The African-American community has been taken for granted for decades by the Democratic Party. It's time for rule by the people, not rule

for the special interests.

Hillary Clinton-backed policies are responsible for the problems in the inner cities today; and a vote for her is a vote for another generation of

poverty, high crime, and lost opportunities.

SCHNEIDER: With only 83 days until the election, Trump is digging in on his combative style, in hopes of turning around his slide in the polls.

TRUMP: I am who I am. It's me. You have to be you. If you start pivoting, you're not being honest with people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: As another (inaudible) is a campaign itself says no (inaudible) this is (inaudible). In addition, Andrew...

STEVENS: OK. Apologies there, but it happens on live television.

You're watching News Stream. We're going to take a short break. When we come back, The Philippine president gets tough on criminals. Hear from his

right-hand man how he wants to push ahead with the battle on illegal drug.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

STEVENS: Now as if imprisoned Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman didn't have enough problems, now one of his adult sons has been

kidnapped. It happened early on Monday at a restaurant in the pacific resort of Puerto Vallarta.

Now, the kidnappers have not yet been identified, but there is speculation the gunmen were

members of a rival drug cartel.

CNN's senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo joins us now from Dallas with more

details. So, what do we know, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know at this point that out of 16 people who were dining at that upscale restaurant in Puerto Vallarta in

Jalisco State in Mexico, six of them were kidnapped, were taken away by what appears to be, according to Mexican officials, a criminal organization

that made the arrival of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.

Among those six people who were abducted is the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman by the name of Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar. He is the second son

of the drug lord's first marriage. And at this point, authorities have no idea where he might have been taken to.

Now, as I mentioned before, there were 16 people, but the captors led nine women who were

also at the party go, and only took the six that I talked about before.

Authorities during the investigation were able to check registrations belonging to the vehicles that were left outside, five in total. Also

surveillance videos from cameras at the restaurant and also businesses around it in fingerprints and were able to come up with a positive ID for

El Chapo's second son from his first marriage.

At this point, Andrew, however, there's no clue, no idea where these people might have been taken, and authorities say they're still continuing the

investigation.

STEVENS: I want to ask about what this says of the influence of El Chapo. Does it clearly show that his influence is now waning, and are we seeing a

reordering within the drug cartels for supremacy in Mexico?

ROMO: Yeah, it's a very good question, Andrew, because the Sinaloa drug cartel had for a long time dominated that region in Mexico. And the fact

that there's a possibility that a rival drug gang might have come in and abducted his son, nonetheless, maybe a sign that they're trying to

challenge El Chapo, who is still in prison, in Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas. They may be challenging his dominance and also

his position as one of the most powerful criminals in the world.

Now, there's also the possibility that allies of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman maybe trying to reassert their position and also Jesus Alfredo Guzman is

known to be flashy, conceited, and trades in the underworld that are not very much appreciated by other members of the cartel, Andrew.

STEVENS: All right, Rafael, thanks very much for that. Rafael Romo joining us live from

Dallas.

OK. Turning now to the Philippines. And it's been just weeks since the President Rodrigo Duterte took office and he's already followed through on

his pledge to crack down on illegal narcotics.

The police say they've now killed hundreds of suspected drug dealers. And just a few hours ago, Mr. Duterte told police officers they can shoot and

kill any suspect who resists arrest, and is dangerous.

Well let's go now live to Manila. Ivan Watson joins us there. And Ivan, you've been speaking to the man who's really responsible for carrying out

the campaign of the president, the head of police, Ronald Dela Rosa, who I believe is also known as The Rock. What's he been saying?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's described himself essentially as the President Duterte's right-hand man.

And he says that a big part of the police operation that's been under way for the last seven weeks, since Duterte came to power, is his own

brainchild, and this is basically going door-to-door to suspected drug dealers, and users, and with substantial police presence, and quote/unquote

inviting these people to turn themselves in, to surrender themselves voluntarily to the authorities.

The government says that there have been more than half a million voluntary surrenders in

just seven weeks. But there have also been hundreds and hundreds of people killed by police. So take a listen to this excerpt from my interview with

Mr. Ronaldo "The Rock" Dela Rosa, the chief of The Philippines national police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: What have you achieved in these first seven weeks?

RONALDO "BATO" DELA ROSA, GENERAL DIRECTOR, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE: So far, we were able to process almost 600,000 drug personalities, and about a

couple of thousands who were arrested, and about almost 600 were killed.

WATSON: The 600 who were killed were killed by police?

DELA ROSA: The police, during police operations.

WATSON: Are the police being ordered to kill suspected drug dealers?

DELA ROSA: They have to kill them if they endanger our lives.

WATSON: Have you ordered the police to try to apprehend any of these vigilante killers?

DELA ROSA: That's my order. That's my order.

WATSON: So how do you feel when you see an image of somebody dead on the sidewalk with the cardboard sign pusher next to them?

DELA ROSA: Mixed emotions. I pity the guy for losing his life. At the same time, I see it as a one less pusher, one less one. It's minus one.

WATSON: So there are pros and cons to these vigilante killings.

DELA ROSA: Yeah, there are pros and cons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: There have been hundreds of unexplained murders that have taken place in the past seven weeks. In addition to the police killings, Andrew,

and that's why there are some real questions coming from critics from human rights activists, and one of the senators in The Philippines

parliament has called for a senate inquiry into these extrajudicial killings and has summoned that police chief to appear on Monday, before

her inquiry. He has agreed to do so.

In comments today, the President Duterte took direct aim at the Senator Leila de Lima who is conducting that inquiry. He basically called her an

immoral woman, accusing her of having a lover who she claimed had received drug money, that's how personal and angry this drug war is getting between

different politicians, and critics of the president, and the way that he is firing back at those critics -- Andrew.

STEVENS: Yeah, the president has a history of making highly personal attacks, Ivan.

But he also very clearly campaigned on cleaning up Manila, cleaning up the country, from drugs for his presidential election, and it was a winning

strategy. So, the question now is, does he still have the support, do you think, of most Filipinos, given that rising body count?

WATSON: According to a Philippines poll, a reputed polling agency last month he had 91 percent confidence and trust ratings from Filipinos

surveyed. And yes, he did win a decisive victory in the presidential elections last May. So this has been a popular on many levels.

And we've been visiting, for example, drug rehabilitation centers, and talking not only to desperate family members of drug addicts, but even to

patients in recovery, who have told me that they welcome this crackdown, this very bloody crackdown on drugs in the country.

According to official statistics as of last year, there were some 1.3 million drug users in a country about 100 million people. Andrew, in his

speech today, President Duterte, he said he basically described the situation in the country as almost apocalyptic terms saying that

methamphetamines were destroying future generations of Filipinos. And he basically informed the

police to ignore criticism coming from the United Nations, and from human rights groups, and instructed the police officers to continue killing any

suspected drug offender who resists arrest.

So we can probably assume that the bodies will continue to pile up in this controversial drug war -- Andrew.

STEVENS: Doubling down on that strategy. Ivan, thank you for that. Ivan Watson live from Manila.

Stay with News Stream. We will have more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: When virtual Singapore comes online in 2018, it'll cover almost the entire city-state, a twin, a mirror image of the real world, down to

almost every building, road and tree, a place to run experiments and to find efficiencies, from figuring out where to install new solar panels to

simulating emergencies like a gas leak. This may look like Sim City on steroids, but at over $50 million, it costs a whole lot more.

Worth it, the man responsible for the entire program says, because what's at stake here is Singapore's future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be innovative, you need to be open-minded. You need to believe in the future, and the possibility by building this virtual

Singapore as a big data platform, you can do a lot of things -- create opportunities, so this is to address the government agencies' needs, as

well as address the needs of the people.

STEVENS: There are challenges, he admits. And at the top of that list privacy and security. Including questions about who will have access to

all that information and how it will, and won't, be used.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: And that is News Stream. I'm Andrew Stevens. Don't go anywhere. World Sport with Amanda Davies live in Rio is just ahead.

END