Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Snowden's Secret Saviors; Another NSA Contractor Caught With Classified Data; Hurricane Matthew Cuts Path of Destruction Through Caribbean; Kerry, Lavrov Have Phone Conversation; White House Upset Over New Israeli Settlement Activity

Aired October 6, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream. Now, parts of Haiti flattened by Hurricane Matthew, and the

storm continues to wreak havoc. Right now it is over the Bahamas before it heads toward the U.S.

Syria's civil war rages on, but can France be the one to break the peace talk stalemate? A live report straight ahead.

And Snowden's secret saviors. Ivan Watson meets the Hong Kong refugees who house the world's most wanted man.

Hurricane Matthew is cutting a destructive path toward and through the Caribbean. It's centered over the Bahamas right now. It's headed straight

for Florida. Millions are under a hurricane warning and across the southeastern United States, people have been urged to leave their homes.

Now, Haiti is struggling with a full-blown disaster after the storm made landfall there. Ten people were killed. And Sunday's presidential

election has been postponed.

Communication lines are down. The hard hit southern peninsula has been cut off from the rest

of the country after a bridge collapse, and there are already reports of a shortage of fresh water.

Julie Lee with World Vision told CNN just how bad things are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE LEE, WORLD VISION: We are estimating upwards to about a million people have been affected, mainly through flooding, through collapse of

houses, complete destruction or partial damage, but we are also seeing a lot of crops and livestock damaged by the hurricane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right. Let's bring in a journalist Yvetot Gouin. He joins us now live on the line from a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. And

Yvetot, are rescue workers still struggling to get to more remote victims of the storm?

YVETOT GOUIN, JOURNALIST: Good morning. Well, they'll be struggling for days to come, because there's definitely that one road from the north to

the south through the entire southern peninsula in fact, and so .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We just have those three there that are damaged basically.

LU STOUT: All right, access is still an issue because of the storm. Aid workers are finding it

really difficult to get to places where people need help. And then there's also an issue of the dangers being posed by the flooding there in Port-au-

Prince. What's being done to prevent mainly the spread of disease and more cases of cholera there?

GOUIN: Well, it's essentially a step-by-step process. So, they still need to get access to remote areas to get those who need help identify where

those areas are hardest hit. And that's being done as sort of an hour-by- hour (inaudible) rather than an hour-by-hour basis.

And so it's going to take some time. I mean, I really want people to understand that this has become a much bigger deal than just a storm coming

through (inaudible) and it was a powerful storm. The recovery and the aftermath of what we have to deal with in terms of not having access and

having to identify those areas, that is where help is needed, that's where efforts, resources need to be focused, and it's going to take some time.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And we appreciate your update, sir, on the ground and reminding our audience all around the world this was a serious storm and

serious help is needed there in Haiti.

We know that the UN has been reporting 10,000 people are in shelters. Survivors need homes. They need help. What kind of assistance, what kind

of aid does Haiti need the most right now?

GOUIN: I believe first we need to identify the areas hardest hit and try to -- and find those people. We still don't know who's out there, and

that's the biggest issue. Once we can get to those people, then we can figure out what they need. But ultimately, they'll need water. They'll

need food. They'll need shelter, and they'll need -- and there will have to be a concerted effort to figure out how to deal with contaminated water

and homes that are completely damaged and seawater that sort of invaded agricultural land.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and the storm made landfall a couple days ago. And as you said, we still don't know the scale of this disaster, and pardon me, the UN

is saying hundreds of thousands of people are in shelters. World Vision saying up to a million people have been affected. And when you talk to

people there in Port-au-Prince -- and they have endured so much over the years. They had to deal with that catastrophic earthquake, the cholera

epidemic that followed that. How are they coping after this latest disaster?

GOUIN: The Haitian people are resilient (inaudible). But at the end of the day it's still a serious matter (inaudible). Port-au-Prince was

affected by the storm and has dealt with earthquakes and storms before, but this is a whole new experience for Haiti, and in terms of getting access to

people and delivering aid to these people, it has to be done by road. The roads are muddy for the most part still, even if we get there at some point

over the next few days, it's still going to take some time over the next month, I believe, to identify the damage, you know,

on the ground.

From the air, it's apparent. But from the ground, it's going to be another experience.

LU STOUT: Yvetot Gouin, we appreciate your urgent updates on the ground there in Port-au-Prince, where people are picking up the pieces yet again.

Thank you for your reporting and do take care.

Now, officials meanwhile in the United States, they are taking no chances. People up and down the southeast coast, they are boarding up their homes

and following the warnings to get out.

Now, CNN's Nick Valencia is in West Palm Beach in Florida and he joins us now. And Nick, first, describe the current conditions there. I mean, what

is it like around you ahead of the storm's arrival?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been out here all morning long, Kristie. And conditions have just steadily gotten worse. You can see

behind me the preparations have been well under way for the last week. This community bracing for potential devastation. Just a short time ago we

saw two men removing an awning atop this building. Half of the windows have been shuttered up, the other half remain still facing this Palm Beach,

which expects to get hammered here in the next couple of hours. Just to show you how significant the wind is, palm trees blowing a lot faster than

they were earlier this morning.

As that storm surge comes in, and we've started to see these waves really swell here, this area is under a mandatory evacuation that started last

night at 6:00 p.m. Some residents, they're not heeding that warning. I spoke to one resident earlier. He's from Philadelphia. He says he has

nowhere to go. The local officials here have set up shelters for those who have decided to stick around in the area, those, like that individual I was

talking about, who have nowhere to go.

Others who I've spoken to say they've been through plenty of tropical storms, hurricanes in the past as well. They've chosen not to evacuate.

Other residents are slowly trickling out of here. They expect to get out of here all together by 11:00 a.m.

But we've already seen the precautions being taken by those local police officers. There are three bridges that provide access points to this

beach. Already one of those bridges has been shut down. We expect the other two, perhaps, to be shut down in the coming hours -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Nick Valencia joining us live from West Palm Beach. Thank you, Nick.

Now, in the Pacific, another storm, this is Typhoon Chaba, has killed at least six people. It hit the southern tip of South Korea on Wednesday.

And you can see just how immense the flooding was there. These cars just being tossed around. Four people are still missing. And hundreds of homes

and large areas of farmland have been flooded.

Now to the capital of Syria now, where a volunteer organization hailed for its bravery has

suffered a major blow. The civil defense group known as the White Helmets says its center has been destroyed by a barrel bomb. Now, the neutral

organization is credited with saving thousands of lives and has in fact been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The group says some of its

volunteers have been injured in the attack.

And the world has watched in horror as scenes like this play out in Syria.

And now just days after the U.S. suspended cease-fire talks with Russia, France is on a new peace drive. Now, foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is

heading to Moscow and Washington over the next couple days. He is trying to build support for a UN-backed cease-fire in Aleppo so that humanitarian

aid can be delivered to the people under siege.

Now, the top diplomats for the U.S. and Russia spoke by phone earlier today, and Matthew Chance has more on that from Moscow. And Matthew, we

have Lavrov and Kerry talking by phone. What was discussed? And is this a resumption of talks?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it was quite surprising, wasn't it, to hear that there had been this American-initiated

phone call to Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, by John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State just a couple days after the

Americans had made such a grandstand about saying, look, they're cutting off bilateral relations -- or talks -- with the Russians over this issue of

Syria.

They're still saying that's the case. They're saying that they're not going to have those sit-down talks face to face as they were in Geneva

anymore to discuss the implementation of a cease-fire or a cessation of hostilities in Syria, but they will still cutting off bilateral relations

with the Russians on a range of issues. And it wasn't just Syria apparently that was discussed in his phone call, those discuss the

situation in Ukraine and the situation in North Korea as well.

The State Department also saying that, look, it would be irresponsible of us, the State Department, the American government, not to talk to the

Russians given the situation in Aleppo in Syria. And so, obviously there still are channels open between these two countries.

LU STOUT: And we know that the French foreign minister is traveling to Moscow today before going to D.C. Can he somehow end the stalemate between Russia and the U.S. over Syria?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, it's hoped that he can. Although, I suspect the chances of that happening during this trip, if at all, are very slim

indeed.

I mean, the purpose of Jean-Marc Ayrault's trip here to Moscow, he says, is to try and get Russia to sign up to a draft UN resolution, which would stop

all military flights over Aleppo, grant humanitarian access to that besieged city, and to give assistance to the hundreds of thousands of

people, tens of thousands of people at least, that are trapped inside in that extremely dire situation which the reports we're hearing from the

ground suggest is only getting worse.

Now -- in other words, he's going to be talking to the Russians about exactly the same issues that the Americans were talking to the Russians

about. And of course, that process between the U.S. and Moscow ended badly. And at the moment there's no sign really that the French, this

French initiative is going to have a different result.

LU STOUT: All right. Matthew Chance reporting live for us from Moscow. Thank you.

Now, in the Damascus suburb of Daraya (ph), a secret underground world once provided a precious refuge from the horrors of war: a library. And now it

lies in ruins.

Fred Pleitgen has this rare report from inside Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(EXPLOSION)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For almost four years this was the reality in Daraya --

(EXPLOSION)

PLEITGEN: ...a suburb of Damascus controlled by the rebels but besieged by Syrian government forces.

Amid the shelling the shortages of food, water, and medicine, a space of quiet, of reading, of solace, a secret underground library. The chief

librarian, a 14-year-old boy named Amjad (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: The children are gone.

PLEITGEN: "I like the place and I like learning things. I like to read," he told us. In August, the rebels made a deal with the Syrian government for

free passage out of Daraya in return for government control of the district.

We were one of the first crews to make it in after the evacuation. Amid the flattened and damaged buildings, all of a sudden, we noticed soldiers

taking books from a basement, the former secret library of Daraya. Books strewn across the floor, many volumes already gone, but the order of a

library still visible.

(on camera): Almost during the entire time of the siege, the underground library was a sanctuary, especially for the children of Daraya, many who

would brave the dangers to read in peace.

(voice-over): All civilians have now left Daraya but we found the former librarian, Amjad (ph), in a displaced camp outside Damascus. His eyes lit

up when we told him we found the library.

"I would work for hours in the library," he said. "I would go in at 1:00 and come back at 5:00. I was responsible for everything."

For years, the library was the only escape he and others had for from the shelling that killed and wounded so many.

Amjad (ph) is clear on just how special it was.

"I cried the last time I was there," he said. "I used to love it so much."

Daraya is now destroyed and abandoned. The underground library is gone. But it will always hold a special place for Amjad (ph) and the others, a quiet

space in the hell they faced for almost four years.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN Daraya, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream here on CNN.

And three years ago Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA's secret surveillance program. And now his story and the stories of the refugees

who helped him are being told in a new film. We'll have the details next.

Plus, another NSA contractor is accused of stealing top secret information. What documents the U.S. says he took.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT; Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now, the new movie Snowden is opening in Hong Kong right now. It reveals that refugees helped NSA contractor Edward Snowden evade authorities in

Hong Kong back in 2013.

And now the same asylum seekers hope the movie can help shed light on their plight. Ivan Watson met with them and has their story.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, where do you hide the world's most wanted man in one of the most densely populated cities in

the world? That's a question that Edward Snowden's lawyers were asking themselves in 2013 after he came here to Hong Kong and went public with the

NSA's controversial surveillance program.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: And the lawyers, they set upon a very unorthodox strategy. They hid Edward Snowden with one of the most marginalized communities in this

city, the asylum seekers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you access an unauthorized program?

WATSON: It's Hollywood's take on one of the biggest intelligence leaks in U.S. history, the new Oliver Stone film Snowden. It reveals new details

about how NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden escaped U.S. authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government knows that we have these documents now.

WATSON: Snowden first went public from this hotel in Hong Kong in May 2013, making his bombshell revelations about NSA surveillance programs in

an interview with The Guardian newspaper.

EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA LEAKER: The NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone.

WATSON: Around that time, Hong Kong-based lawyer Robert Tibbo was hired to represent the most wanted man in the world.

ROBERT TIBBO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mr. Snowden was nervous when I met with him.

WATSON: The lawyer hid Snowden in the middle of this crowded city for weeks.

TIBBO: I advised Mr. Snowden to be placed with refugee families in a populated area, as this would be the last place that anybody would look.

WATSON: the film shows for the first time how Tibbo took Snowden to stay with impoverished asylum seekers who are his clients.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are good people. They won't talk.

WATSON: Now after staying in the shadows for years...

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Hi, there. Nice to meet you.

WATSON: The real refugees who took turns hiding Snowden are going public. Families like Sapoon Kilapata (ph) and Ndika Nones (ph) from Sri Lanka who

gave their bed in a tiny apartment to an American stranger.

Where did he sleep?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He sleep in the corner room.

WATSON: Vanessa Rodel (ph) from the Philippines says Tibbo showed up unexpectedly one night at her door with Snowden.

Was he afraid?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he was afraid. Worrying. He was worrying so much.

WATSON: She didn't know who he was until the next day when she spotted Snowden's face on the front page of a Hong Kong newspaper.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the newspaper. It was him.

WATSON: The guy who's living in your house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very, very shocked. I said, oh, my god. The most wanted man in the world is in my house.

WATSON: But Rodel (ph) continued shelter and feed Snowden, even though as a refugee she barely had enough money to feed herself.

There are at least 14,500 asylum seekers in Hong Kong, some of whom joined this recent

protest on behalf of Snowden. The Hong Kong authorities here refuse to accept any of these refugees. Their children are born here stateless.

Does he have a passport?

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: No.

WATSON: does she he have a citizenship?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

WATSON: People with the least to give gave the most to protect a man on the run. To this day, he is grateful.

SNOWDEN: They protected me. They believed in me. And but for that, I might have had a very different ending.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now, Kristie, we all know how Edward Snowden's story turned out. He received refuge in Moscow in Russia. He is currently there evading U.S.

charges of espionage and the theft of government documents.

As for the three families that took him in here in Hong Kong, they're still very much in legal

limbo, denied the right to settle here permanently or to legally work. And as for one of them that you saw in that report, Vanessa Rodell (ph) from

The Philippines, well in the last two days she's actually been forced to abandon her apartment along with her elderly mother and her 4 1/2-year-old

daughter.

She says it's because the Hong Kong authorities stopped paying her rent payments and her

electricity payments as retribution for not sharing more information about Edward Snowden.

We reached out to the international social services in Hong Kong for their comment. They deny those accusations and insist that they have continued

to pay Vanessa Rodel (ph) and that there has been no retribution for the role she played in sheltering and protecting Edward Snowden -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Ivan Watson there.

Now, Hong Kong has a population of over 7 million people, but vanishing completely isn't easy. Snowden spent most of his time Kowloon, a densely

populated district. He gave his famous interview with Glenn Greenwald here at the Mirror Hotel.

Now, it's in the tourist area of (inaudible), but when his identity became public, Snowden

was moved to (inaudible) that's one of the places for asylum seekers here.

Snowden's lawyer tried to keep contact with him covert.

Now, according to national post, interns, they would deliver cakes, like these, with thumb drives hidden inside them directly to Edward Snowden.

Now, Snowden moved to (inaudible) shortly after, but he didn't feel safe even in these packed streets.

Now, the refugees who housed him had to take out batteries from their phones, burner phones were used to make any calls.

And Snowden spent two weeks hiding like this before he finally left Hong Kong and found asylum in moscow.

Now, Edward Snowden may have avoided arrest, but another NSA contractor is in custody right

now, also accused of stealing top-secret files. The FBI believes Harold Martin stole highly classified

documents about a hacking program developed by the U.S. government.

Martin was arrested in August, but the Justice Department kept that a secret until now. Our U.S. Justice Correspondent Evan Perez joins me now

live from CNN Washington with more on the story. And Evan, according to the FBI, what kind of information did Martin steal?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, we're talking about the most sensitive secrets that the U.S. government possesses. We're talking about

in addition to the hacking tool you just mentioned, which incidentally showed up online for sale just a couple

months ago, and that kicked off this investigation.

We're talking about years and years of some of the most sensitive things that the NSA, the technology the NSA has been able to produce that's what

they said they found, thousands of pages of classified documents, thumb drives, hard drives, computers, enough that he could even run his own

computer networking cloud from his home.

The FBI says that he stole this information. The question now is how did this happen, how did the NSA miss all of this for many, many years.

LU STOUT; And also, why does he do it? What is Martin's motive? And was he working for a foreign government?

PEREZ: That is still not clear. The FBI very much wants to explain that because right now they don't think so. They don't think that he was

working for a foreign government. They don't think he did this for any political motivations like Edward Snowden, who we just watched in that

piece by Ivan Watson. We did get a statement from his lawyers. And I'll read a part of it for you in which the lawyer says, there is no evidence

that Hal Martin betrayed his country. What we do know is that Mr. Martin loves his family and America. He served his nation honorably in the U.s.

navy as a lieutenant and has devoted his entire career to making America safe.

He's still in jail at this hour, Krsitie. The FBI is still trying to determine what these documents,

all these documents are, how many years this goes back. The damage could be greater than the damage done by Edward Snowden by the time we learn

everything in this case.

LU STOUT: And what's next for Harold Martin? What kind of sentence could he

be facing?

PEREZ: He's facing ten years for the theft of government property. Right now those are the charges that we have. Again, this is still very much an

active investigation by the FBI. They simply are trying to figure out whether or not possibly, possibly he might have been hacked. Because

again, he had all this information back at his house and whether someone simply hacked his computers and was able to get this information out --

Kristie.

LU STOUT: And either way, I mean, this is another major blow to the NSA after the Snowden leak from three years ago. Why does this happen? Why is

the NSA apparently not able to secure itself?

PEREZ: Right, exactly. It's a huge, huge blow to this agency. They've spent millions, hundreds of millions of dollars even, in the last three

years since Edward Snowden emerged to try to prevent just this. Now, the question is, you know, if he's been doing this for many years, all the

things that they did since Snowden would not have worked, right.

The question for the NSA simply is, you know, all of the systems that you have in place, it

really doesn't mitigate if someone has the intent to steal information, the insider threat they say is the biggest problem.

The other issue is, this contractor, Harold Martin, also worked for the same contractor that Edward Snowden worked for: Booz Allen Hamilton, which

is a very large company. And they have many questions to be answered as well.

LU STOUT: All right. Evan Perez reporting for us live from CNN Washington. Thank you for that.

Now, more than a dozen people in the U.S. have been charged for running an international sex trafficking ring. 12 Thai nationals and 5 Americans

have been charged with transporting hundreds of women from Thailand to the United States where they were forced into prostitution.

The Thai government says it has a zero tolerance policy toward human trafficking and will

cooperate. And News Stream will bring you any developments on this story as they come in.

Now coming up next on the program, as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton prepare for the

big matchup. It's happening on Sunday, or Monday morning Hong Kong time. Find out what the people of China think about the U.S.

Also ahead, Washington is ticked off at Israel over plans for new housing in the west bank, accusing it of breaking its word. We'll have a live

report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

LU STOUT: The next UN secretary-general will likely be this man: Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres who more recently was

head of the UN refugee agency will face a formal vote later on Thursday. He has long been in the frontrunner for the position with many eastern

European nations wanting someone from their region to lead the UN.

Now, Guterres will replace Ban Ki-moon whose second five year term ends on December 31.

Now the White House is meanwhile lashing out at Israel over its plan to build new housing in the West Bank. It accuses the Israelis of breaking

their word and says the move would damage prospects for peace.

But Israel insists the additional housing is an expansion of an existing settlement, not a new one.

For more on the story, CNN's Oren Liebermann joins me now from the Shiloh (ph) settlement in the West Bank. And Oren, Washington is accusing Israel

of breaking its word with these new settlements. How is Israel responding?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel says this isn't a new settlement at all. The area we're talking about is the area

right here behind me, essentially this hill, this open spot right here. That's where this new construction would be.

Israel says it's part of an existing settlement, the settlement of Shiloh (ph). And if I take you over here, you can see that is Shiloh (ph),

essentially one hill closer to us.

Israel says this is replacement housing for illegal settler housing that has to be torn down

by the end of the month, that's an argument the White House isn't buying. Here's spokesman Josh Earnest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARNEST: The settlement's planned location is deep in the West Bank. In fact, the settlement location is far closer to Jordan than it is to Israel.

And it would effectively link a string of outposts that could divide the West Bank. And it would make the possibility of a viable Palestinian state

all the more remote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Israel says the status of settlements is open to negotiations and a final status agreement. It is worth noting, Kristie, that although

Israel says this isn't a new settlement in the planning documents, in the planning proposal, it says this will have its own municipal buildings, its

own public buildings, and will effectively be independent from the rest of of Shiloh (ph) -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And, Oren, as the U.S. is expressing anger at Israeli plans for these new settlements in the West Bank, how do Palestinians view the

situation?

LIEBERMANN: Scathing criticism from PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat who says this is a continuation of the expansion of illegal settlements in what

he calls the occupied state of Palestine. He says this is a, quote, continued aggression from what he calls the right-wing extremist Israeli

government in violation of international law.

So, no surprise there, Palestinian leadership furious at the expansion or this growth of settlements here that as the U.S. points out is closer to

Jordan than it is to the green line that separates Israel from the West Bank.

LU STOUT: And also, the word from the Israeli government. I mean, how concerned is the government there that these harsher words from the U.S.

may signal more stress on the relationship?

LIEBERMANN: Well, Israel's great fear is that Netanyahu -- I'm sorry, President Obama may do something after November 8th, before the next

president is sworn in. He has a couple month window there.

Now, Netanyahu, when he was in the U.S. last month, met with both Trump and Clinton, both the Republican and Democratic candidate. They promised they

wouldn't do anything unilateral at the United Nations. That's not a promise President Obama made when meeting

with Netanyahu, that was very much the elephant in the room that wasn't talked about leaving open the possibility that President Obama may be

willing to do something at the United Nations, whether it's parameters for negotiations for a two-state solution or something like that to leave his

mark on a two-state solution.

As far as the U.S. is concerned, this construction that would happen here behind me would be

the first new settlement, new Israeli settlement in the West Bank in more than two decades.

LU STOUT: All right. CNN's Oren Lieberman reporting from the West Bank. Thank you, Oren.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, the polls are in. So what spin are the U.S. vice

presidential candidates putting on their performance from earlier in the week? That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are prepping for the next debate just three days from now. They will go head to head

less than a week after a showdown between their running mates, the Democrat Tim Kaine and Republcian Mike Pence.

Now, most polls show that Pence won the debate. When CNN spoke to Kaine a short time ago, he defended his performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wanted to obviously defend

Hillary Clinton against a lot of attacks, most of them baseless, that the other side is leveling. And I think I did a good job on that.

And second, I was really interested to see, very interested, whether Governor Pence would defend his running mate or not. I viewed it as

fundamentally a debate really between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. And so I put over and over again to Governor

Pence the notion of how can you defend what Donald Trump has done or said, and again and again, he refused to defend Donald Trump. And so I think that was what I was hoping

to get across in the debate. And I think folks watching it definitely understood that Governor Pence wouldn't defend his running mate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And we will hear from his rival, the Republican Mike Pence, in the next hour right

here on CNN.

Now, you can see the next presidential debate on CNN. Watch it live starting 9:00 a.m. Monday here in Hong Kong. That's 2:00 a.m. in London.

Now, a new survey shows that people in China see the U.S. as a top threat, worse than climate change. Now the Pew Research Center interviewed more

than 3,000 people in China, nearly half say that they are worried about America's power and influence, while a third believed that Climate change

and instability in the global economy are major threats.

Now more than half think that the United States is trying to prevent China from becoming an equal power. Still, a majority say that China is playing

a bigger role in world affairs today than it did 10 years ago.

Now, the nine Australian men arrested for stripping down to their underwear are now freed by

a Malaysian court. Now, the men drunkenly took off their clothes and revealed briefs emblazoned with the Malaysian flag at the country's grand

prix. The incident happened earlier this week and launched them to international fame -- or infamy. And earned them the name Budgy Nine after

their briefs.

But they're also blasted by Malaysian and Australian officials who say that the incident was culturally inappropriate.

Now, someone else may have offended a nation on the British pop star. Robbie Williams is catching some flak for his pop song. Some say the music

video for "Party Like a Russian" is borderline racist. Jonathan Mann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The new music video from British pop star Robbie Williams features ballerinas, beats, and according

to some critics, crude stereotypes of the Russian people.

Williams sings about Russian vodka, nesting dolls, and samples the famous Procopius ballet Romeo and Juliette.

His lyrics include "Ain't no recruiting, or disputin, I'm a modern rasputin." The speculation the song is poking fun at Russian President

Vladimir Putin. With at least one Moscow tabloid demanding Williams never be allowed to perform in Russia again.

But the pop star defended himself on Twitter saying, this song is definitely not about Mr. Putin. On the streets of Moscow, reaction to the

song was mixed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The soul here is different. The atmosphere, the way the people are is different. It's not like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I wouldn't say it was like this in Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's similar to Russia, but the Russia of the 18th century. It's pretty. I like it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Russians can go out and party harder than that.

MANN: While on Russian state TV, a Moscow music producer claims Williams is just trying to cash in by courting controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're currently at a time when Russia is news maker number one, and it seems Robbie Williams has tried to

increase his popularity with this.

MANN: For his part, Williams tells a British newspaper he wasn't out to offend Russians, and even toned down his original lyrics to make the song

more politically correct. Whether that worked, the answer would appear to be niet.

Jonathan Mann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Kind of catchy, isn't it?

Well, the bad news just keeps on coming for Samsung. Now, one of these replacement Galaxy

Note 7 phones apparently caught fire on a U.S. flight right before takeoff. The owner said that he had

turned the phone off when it suddenly started smoking. Samsung had to recall millions of the Note 7 phones after dozens caught fire while

charging, and the replacements were supposed to fix the issue. The plane was evacuated, and nobody was hurt. But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission is investigating.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END