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CNN Live Event/Special
Trump Wraps Up U.K. Visit, Walks Back Comments on Trade; Trump Joins Queen Elizabeth to Meet Veterans in D-Day Events; GOP Lawmakers Oppose Trump's Tariffs on Mexico; China's Xi Jinping in Moscow for State Visit; Sixteen Countries Sign Historic D-Day Proclamation. Aired 8-8:45a ET
Aired June 05, 2019 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I am Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Welcome to NEWS STREAM.
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And I'm Isa Soares in London outside Buckingham Palace, where it is 1 o'clock here.
U.S. president Donald Trump is wrapping up his trip to the U.K. with a promise of new trade deals post-Brexit and the compliments of the queen. But before he heads to Ireland, he is marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day landings.
Elizabeth is there in Portsmouth and so are several heads of state and hundreds of World War II veterans. A short time ago, Mr. Trump appeared on stage and read a prayer delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the night of the landings.
But plenty of hot button issues await President Trump and protests have swarmed around his visit in the last 24 hours. Many Britons fear the potential impact of a new trade deal with U.S. while Mexico is under the threat of tariffs.
And this Chinese company, Huawei, is finding itself in the center of an international dispute. CNN's Phil Black joins us now from Portsmouth.
Let's put politics and policy aside, if we can, for now. Give us a sense of what we have heard from President Trump and, indeed, from the queen there, as they mark these D-Day commemorations.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This ceremony was designed to be both poignant and uplifting and it really achieved that. It was a slick production. On the one hand it contained testimonials, witness accounts, correspondence from the time, moving accounts of the events of World War II.
And on the other hand, there were rousing performances of popular music and culture from that time as well. It was a both a tribute to those who served, suffered and in many cases lost their lives over the course of their conflict and then through the D-Day landings and at the same time it was a celebration of all they achieved.
The world leaders, 15 of them, some of them took part in the ceremony and you mentioned Donald Trump, the American president, he read a prayer that, at the time, was read to the American people by then President Franklin Roosevelt.
The queen spoke last. What she said was really poignant. She said she remembered the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. At the time, there was broad speculation that you wouldn't have further ceremonies like this but she said the wartime generation, as she said, my generation, are resilient.
She quoted her father, George VI, in an address he made when he spoke of the courage, the endurance, the resolve that would be required to get this job done. And then she thanked the veterans, thanked the people who took part in that operation for delivering exactly that resolve, courage and endurance.
And she thanked them, she said, on behalf of the free world. And so things have wrapped up here now. They finished with a big fly past of British aircraft, both historic and current military serving aircraft as well.
All of this here today has been about those veterans who risked their lives and endured so much to achieve a successful operation on that day. And also a tribute to the international cooperation that was able to make it happen, both in the planning and the execution.
SOARES: Very moving speech from the queen. And like you clearly said, it's about remembrance for those who were there, those who weren't, on the day in 1944 and the lessons that can be learned. Phil Black, thanks very much.
President Trump is promising a "phenomenal" trade deal with the U.K., something that's been touted as a potential benefit of Britain leaving the E.U. But many Britons fear what that deal may actually look like. President Trump has walked back comments that the NHS might be featured in the negotiations. Take a listen.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you're dealing in trade, everything is on the table. So NHS or anything else. Or a lot more than that.
I don't see it being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I say everything's up for negotiation because everything is. But I don't see that being -- that's something that I would not consider part of trade. That's not trade.
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SOARES: The U.S. president speaking there in an interview with Piers Morgan earlier on Wednesday in Britain. Joining me now is Nile Gardner with the Heritage Foundation --
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SOARES: -- he's a former adviser to the late prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. I want to show some pictures we have coming in of the royal family. There you have some live pictures coming from Portsmouth. We just lost that feed but as soon as we have that in, we will bring it to you.
But I'm joined now by Nile Gardner.
I'm not sure whether you heard that clip from President Trump on the NHS, because he kind of backtracked a bit. We heard him yesterday in his press conference saying that everything is on the table.
How do you read this?
How do you read this back and forth?
Because we don't really know where we stand with President Trump.
NILE GARDNER, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I closely followed the discussions between the U.S. and the U.K. over a free trade agreement. I've met many members of Congress regarding that. The NHS issue has never come up at all. It hasn't been an agenda item for discussion.
So I think the NHS issue is a non-issue for a U.S. free trade deal. There are great sensitivities in Britain over the health service. I think the president understands that. I don't think this is going to be, you know, something --
SOARES: So where did this come from?
GARDNER: I think it was a question asked in a new conference, he responded everything is on the table and he later went back on that suggestion.
After all, I don't think the issue of the National Health Service at all has featured whatsoever and already two years detailed discussions between London and Washington on a U.S. free trade agreement. So I think that this is really a nonstory at the end of the day.
SOARES: A nonstory but, nevertheless, if you look at the British press, something many are worried about because it is the jewel in the crown. We saw some of the footage there from the D-Day commemorations.
What do you think are the lessons from President Trump, a president who we know is very much America first. We have elections coming up, 2020 elections.
What do you think he can get away?
As he stands there, he hears a speech from the queen, he hears the stories and memories of that day, what does he walk away with? GARDNER: Firstly, President Trump is a big believer in the U.S.-U.K. relationship. He's an admirer of Great Britain and the alliance between the U.S. and U.K. He's also supported the transatlantic alliance, as well.
You have seen the NATO alliance strengthen over the past few years, increasing defense spending. So this is a president who is not an isolationist but who does firmly believe in the importance of the transatlantic alliance. That's not going to change.
SOARES: As you're talking, we are seeing the royal family meeting veterans there in Portsmouth, some 300 or so veterans taking part in those commemorations. There was music, some music festivals, some bands playing as well. And we see the queen looking very dashing in that pink hat and President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump.
The celebrations have ended for now but now they're taking time to meet some of the 300 or so veterans. In terms of numbers, the exact number of casualties that day are hard to know. But estimated about 10,000 Allied soldiers were killed or went missing in action. Just over 6,600 were Americans, 2,700 British and 946 Canadians.
Today it's not so much about the leaders or dignitaries or the queen. It really is about these veterans who have stories to tell. Many of them well over 90 years of age and keeping this memory alive, keeping their stories alive for generations to come.
I want to go back to this. You were saying the importance, talking about NATO. We heard from President Trump, saying that NATO is obsolete. We heard from the queen, in fact, hinting at the importance of cooperation.
Do you think he'll take any of that --
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GARDNER: Well, I think the president strongly believes in NATO. He just believes that NATO allies need to invest more in their own defense. The number of U.S. troops on the ground in Europe has increased under the Trump presidency.
And you're about to see the possibility of a permanent U.S. base being set up in Poland. So this is a president who does believe in the importance of organizations like NATO, which are very, very effective. He's much more skeptical of the European Union.
SOARES: But he's against the U.N., skeptical of the E.U., he's pulled out of the Paris climate change agreement.
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GARDNER: He basically believes that international organizations should be effective and efficient. He's withdrawn the U.S. from some U.N. organizations that are seen as corrupted, bloated bureaucracies. He believes in value for money for U.S. taxpayers is what the American people expect. He's not, though, someone who is withdrawing the United States from
the NATO alliance or from the United Nations. He believes in American leadership on the world stage.
But he believes that all U.S. allies should pull their weight together with the United States in confronting the threats to the free world. So that really is his message. Countries like Germany, France, for example, need to spend more on their own defense and match the levels of spending by Great Britain and the United States.
SOARES: That may be the case but once he gets back home, it's all about America first, something that plays very well with his base. Nile Gardner, I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us here.
Well, 75 years ago, the largest seaborne invasion in history was about to begin and it would change the world. In fact, it would change Europe, signaling the beginning of the end of the Second World War and the liberation of Europe from Nazi domination.
It was D-Day. U.S. president Donald Trump has been commemorating the occasion with Queen Elizabeth. We showed you some footage there. Prince Charles, as well, is there, as well as a raft of world leaders.
And on the other side of the channel, the Normandy town of Carentan in France was at the heart of battle between the Allied and Nazi forces. Our senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann joins me from there.
Give me a sense of how D-Day is being commemorated where you are.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: We've seen a number of parachute drops. They're telling us about 200 paratroopers in all will be dropping out of the sky. I think probably the most famous is 97-year-old Tom Rice from the United States, who sort of relived the moments of his drop 75 years ago.
He dropped into Normandy and was sort of aiming for this very field. He didn't quite make it, I don't think, when he was there 75 years ago. But a lot of the airborne units got scattered all over the countryside and had to fight their way to join up with their fellow troops.
That was the airborne. Then earlier this week, I was talking to some of the seaborne veterans who, in fact, had made it to shore despite a great deal of opposition from the Nazis. Here is the way it looked to them as they revisited the beaches from 75 years ago.
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BITTERMANN (voice-over): The first time Vern Ollar sailed along the Normandy coast, it wasn't exactly on board a luxury cruise ship. It was 75 years ago and his transport was a military landing craft, heading for Omaha Beach on the coast of France.
He barely got there. His boat got hit and he almost drowned, weighed down by heavy mortar equipment. But Ollar survived. VERN OLLAR, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: We lost a lot of guys. And I always get a little lump in my throat. All those guys -- we had almost 2,000 D-Day, just on Omaha, 18-, 19-, 21-year-old guys. It makes me -- I get choked up.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): At 98 years old, Ollar has come back, along with 17 other vets, on a tour organized by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Scores of Allied veterans, now at least in their 90s, are at Normandy for this anniversary of D-Day, the last salute, some are calling it, since it is not sure how many more years there will be old soldiers around to share their living memories.
PAUL HILLIARD, NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM: We've got to keep the memory alive. There was a very high price paid for that freedom. So value it. So I guess that what we're trying to bring forward is the value of freedom.
BITTERMANN: So much of the commemoration is about remembrance. Not only for those here on Omaha Beach but those who weren't. For those who never knew or have forgotten exactly how much of modern Europe and today's world is based on what happened here 75 years ago.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): Long gone are the generals and colonels who gave the orders and understood the bigger picture and how important it was for the D-Day landings to establish a toehold on a continent that has lost its freedom. Those who came back this anniversary were well down in the ranks, like paratrooper Guy Whidden, who says he was just doing his job.
GUY WHIDDEN, WWII VETERAN: I always thought God was with me. I don't remember any fear at all, some apprehension, not knowing exactly what was happening.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): To help the vets and others understand just that, the importance of what they were part of --
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BITTERMANN (voice-over): -- there were lectures and seminars on board their cruise ship to put D-Day in context.
And there was musical nostalgia to bring back a happy memory or two of what it would be like to feel young again.
But most of the thoughts this anniversary are serious about an event many here, like Omar, say changed their lives and changed the world forever.
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BITTERMANN: And one of the things that is really amazing about some of these folks is how good shape they're in. They have really kept themselves fit over the last years. Seeing Tom Rice come out of the sky just a few minutes ago at 97 years old and in perfect shape and taking questions from the press, same thing with Vern Ollar, it's amazing how good these guys are looking after all that time. SOARES: They all have a spring in their step still. Good to see you, Jim. Thanks very much.
It's incredible, as Jim was outlining there, how much energy they still have. And the gentleman that parachuted out, he did an interview and they asked him whether you're still nervous.
Are you nervous at all?
He said, no, they're not shooting at us this time. It's much safer. And he laughed it off.
A real example, role models for us all.
STOUT: Absolutely. It's so extraordinary to see and hear about this 97-year-old veteran, parachuting into Normandy, incredible stuff but moving as well, because they're doing this to honor their lost comrades. Isa Soares, thank you so much.
You're watching NEWS STREAM. Still to come on the show, President Trump has a plan to slap tariffs on Mexico. It's being met with resistance from lawmakers within his own party. We'll get additional reaction from Mexico City.
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STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is NEWS STREAM.
Back in Washington, President Trump is facing resistance from an unlikely source. Several U.S. Republican senators are expressing opposition to his threat to impose tariffs on Mexican imports. Even President Trump's own aides say the move risks slowing the U.S. economy.
Everything from cars to food would be affected and the Trump administration is also cracking down on Cuba. The U.S. has imposed tough new travel restrictions on U.S. citizens wanting to visit the Caribbean island.
We have reporters on the ground covering both of these stories. Patrick Oppmann is in Cuba's capital. Paula Newton is in Mexico City.
Paula, we'll start with you.
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STOUT: President Trump has laid it down. He has articulated his tariff threat against Mexico.
How are officials responding? PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mexican officials here say they have been responding for weeks and even months. You'll remember a couple months ago, the president had threatened to shut down the border between Mexico and the United States. He did not go through with that threat.
But at the same time, Mexico got the message. They say that within their own country, in what is, I have to tell you, a very long, porous border to the south, they are trying to get a hold of the numbers. Those people that are making their way through Mexico and trying to make their way north.
They are going to show some facts and figures. They won't give us an actual statistic to say apprehensions and deportations are up by 50 percent, 60 percent but they will say they have improved.
On top of that, the government here is going through what they call a more humanitarian approach. They have issued more humanitarian visas. That allows people to come up from very poor and often violent Central American countries to come here and stay in Mexico and not try to get to the U.S. border.
The problem is, it just hasn't worked. The numbers continue to rise in terms of those who continue to try to make their way through Mexico up to that U.S. border. As we heard, the character of the people going up there, in many cases, is young families. And that has also been a problem that's been overwhelming America.
STOUT: And a lot of question marks as to whether these tariff threats, if they go through, will be effective in regard to what Trump wants to achieve here. He wants to stem the flow of migrants crossing the border. Paula, thank you.
Patrick, we know that the United States has imposed tough new travel restriction ons Cuba. What do they mean for American tourists who want to visit the island?
Because it's not an outright ban, is it?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. But it will make it much more difficult if not impossible. Behind me is a U.S. cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas. It will have to leave within hours by the end of the day or it will be violating the new Trump sanctions on Cuba.
The surprise announcement yesterday, they gave cruise ships 24 hours to stop all operations with Cuba. The cruise lines that are supposed to come here from Miami are being rerouted and the cruise lines tell us that they are studying this decision to see what it means for them.
But privately insiders say this effectively ends all cruise ship travel to the island. It has only been around for three years and is coming to a halt because the U.S. government, the Trump administration says that the money was going directly to the Cuban government and that Cuba is propping up the Maduro regime in Venezuela. So this is to punish the Cuban government. Airline travel is expected
to continue but the number one way that Americans were legally traveling to Cuba, so-called people to people travel, that now will end.
So there is going to be a lot more space on those flights and it will have an impact on Cubans, who fixed up their apartments and restaurants to meet this enormous demand from Americans coming here, something that is fairly new to them. But the Trump administration says sanctions are the way to go, that this is a bad actor in the region, a communist government that they are interested in bringing down.
So they're adding to sanctions which have been around for 60 years and have not accomplished the goal yet of changing the government here.
STOUT: A huge impact by banning U.S. cruise ships from going to Cuba, it is going to have effects across the board. Patrick Oppmann in Cuba, Paula Newton in Mexico City, a big thank you to you both.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Moscow on a three-day state visit. He will meet with President Putin, whom he recently called his best friend The two leaders are expected to cement economic ties as China's trade war with the U.S. rages on.
According to state media, the two leaders have met nearly 30 times since 2013. CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us live from Moscow.
Fred, we know relations with the United States have been souring, you know, China, the U.S., Russia and the U.S., now we're seeing the relationship between China and Russia getting stronger and stronger.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, it is certainly getting stronger and stronger. Right now, Putin is in that bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping. These are two men meeting who trust each other and who both say they are friends with one another. As far as these economic issues are concerned --
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PLEITGEN: -- you're absolutely right, they have been getting stronger and stronger and they're looking to get even stronger yet, as both nations face pressure from the United States.
Last year, trade between these two countries for the first time exceeded $100 billion, according to the Russians and right now these two men say that, on this visit, that Xi Jinping is doing right now in Moscow and later in St. Petersburg, as well, they want to sign some 30 additional contracts and agreements between these two countries.
The trade relations between them are quite interesting. For the Russians, the Chinese are by far the most important trading partner. If you look at things Russia exports to China, it's mostly raw commodities, coal, oil and gas, with gas a market that could be exploding in the near future, especially in the Arctic regions. '
It's a bit more lopsided for the Chinese side. They obviously export a lot more goods, for instance, to Europe and to the United States, as well. But Russia is becoming a more and more important trading partner for the Chinese, as well, for that reason you were just mentioning, both these nations very much at odds with the United States.
We've noted for the past couple of years that the Russians have been in a lot of difficulties with the United States, sanctions from the U.S., from European countries, as well. The Russians have said that they want to make that pivot towards the east and have more business in China.
But now it looks like the Chinese maybe not completely following suit but certainly going in that direction, as well. We now have, what you just mentioned, that trade war. On the one hand, you have the Trump administration levying tariffs on the Chinese, the Chinese firing back and they are not dialing down their rhetoric, either. So that is the environment that makes this meeting so very important, as well.
STOUT: Very important meeting, a strengthening alliance but a lopsided one, especially given the various sizes of their respective economies and other factors. Fred Pleitgen reporting live, thank you.
You're watching NEWS STREAM. Still ahead, more from Isa Soares at Buckingham Palace and the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings.
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STOUT: Hi, I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM and these are your world headlines.
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STOUT: Let's go back to my colleague, Isa Soares, standing by at Buckingham Palace for more on the 75th anniversary of D-Day landings.
SOARES: President Trump has joined the queen. We saw in the last half an hour, the queen, as Prince Charles, meeting World War II veterans. These troops, more than 300 veterans there, are being commemorated. But these troops helped pry Europe from the grip of Nazi forces.
Several heads of state were there, 16 countries in the last 24 hours have agreed to a proclamation vowing the horrors of World War II would never happen again.
Let's get more on this. I'm joined by historian Taylor Downing joining me now to talk more about these D-Day commemorations.
Thank you very much for joining us. There are so many questions I want to ask you. From my own perspective, I want to know, how did they manage to keep Operation Overlord so secret?
TAYLOR DOWNING, HISTORIAN: It's a remarkable achievement. Planning began in 1942, for at least two years, growing numbers, initially tens of thousands of people were involved in the planning and preparations. So this biggest, most ambitious operation --
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SOARES: here were so many, how can you keep it so secret?
DOWNING: They were constantly worried that if word gets out, if the Germans know which beaches they're landing on, there could be -- it could be a suicide missions.
So everybody was sworn to secrecy. There was one case of an American senior officer, who started speaking in a club late at night after a few drinks. He was sent home immediately as a warning to all the others.
In the final days, when literally hundreds of thousands of men were involved, they insulated them, they assembled them in camps across the whole of the south of England from Devon and Cornwall and the far southwest of England right the way up to the area around Portsmouth, where the events have been happening today.
They literally put a ring around them. Nobody was allowed out for several days. They couldn't go to the local --
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SOARES: Couldn't see their families or their wives --
DOWNING: -- they couldn't write home, they couldn't go to the pub or to the bars and speak. They were totally insulated.
SOARES: And as early as 1942, the BBC created a bogus appeal asking for photographs off the coast of France to see the beaches because the Germans ultimately believed that, if there was going to be a war, it would be from Calais.
DOWNING: From part of Calais. The Channel is at its narrowest at Calais, between Dover and Calais, where it's about 20 miles across. And the big debate is where should the invasion take place?
The obvious point was Calais, the shortest route. You've only got 20 miles of sea to cross. But that was also the Germans anticipating that. They built the strongest defenses of all, massive -- they're still there today, some of these giant concrete bunkers with heavy machine guns, with artillery pieces firing down onto the beaches.
Every beach had fire from two sides coming in so there was possible overlapping fire; whereas, 150 miles to the west, around the Normandy beaches, the beaches were thought to be much, much easier to take. The cliffs were nothing like as great.
And although the defenses were still strong, this was still going to be a massive challenge, that was eventually the beaches that were selected, partly because the BBC appealed for people to send in photographs from their holidays.
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: -- that were sent to war rooms to be --
DOWNING: -- sent to war rooms to be analyzed. Aerial photography was used throughout the campaign. Over a million aerial photographs were taken from Brittany in the west up to Normandy. Obviously, once they selected Normandy, they couldn't just concentrate on those beaches. They had to make the Germans think the landing could be anywhere. So they were -- literally, a million photos were taken, were analyzed. The beach samples were looked at, the angle of the beach was assessed. Divers went ashore and took --
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DOWNING: -- tiny samples of the sand and the pebbles to see if they could sustain the weight of tanks and armored vehicles going over them. But they had to do this, not just where they planned to invade but right the way across the whole of Europe. So it was a huge operation of deception.
SOARES: I could talk to you for hours, Taylor. Thank you for coming in.
Also, it was expected to be on the 5th of June but it became the 6th of the weather --
DOWNING: Yes. Eisenhower's metrological adviser spotted -- well, the latter part of May, the beginning of June in 1944 was beautiful weather in northern Europe. It was absolutely fabulous. The Allies could have invaded at any point at all.
And in the middle of this glorious weather, they were planning to invade on Monday, the 5th of June when the meteorologist predicted a storm coming in. The weather was lovely, the sun was beating down, it was very difficult to believe that this was going to change.
But he predicted a storm was coming in and he was absolutely right. When they met on the night of the 4th on June at Eisenhower's headquarters, it was raining cats and dogs. It was lashing down.
And what did he say?
He said, I think there is a window coming, in which, for 24 hours, from the dawn of the 6th on of June, the storm will abate, the skies will clear and that's our moment to go. And Eisenhower consulted his colleagues; they all agreed and he said the famous words that started the greatest invasion in history, he said, "Let's go."
Taylor Downing, thank you very much. Fascinating. Thank you for your time.
I want to turn to Phil Black at Portsmouth.
Phil, in the last 45 minutes or so, we saw some footage of the queen as well as Prince Charles and President Trump next to the first lady, meeting some of those 300 or so veterans who were there who were being commemorated.
BLACK: Yes, it was a really slick production and a very moving ceremony. But you wouldn't call it downbeat, either. On one hand, you had these testimonies, these accounts, correspondence dating from the time, first-hand accounts of what it was to live through war and also the buildup of the D-Day landings themselves.
And on the other hand, there were rousing performances of popular contemporary songs for the time. So this mix of the poignant, the upbeat; President Trump's contribution was to read a prayer first read to the American people by Franklin Roosevelt around the time of the D- Day landings.
Take a listen to President Trump reading part of that now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Almighty God, our sons, proud of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: The ceremony ended with a reducing rendition of "We'll Meet Again," live on one of the stages here. And a crescendo of a big, impressive fly-by from some British military aircraft, both historic from the time of the Second World War, including Spitfires, and contemporary currently serving aircraft, as well.
But before that, we heard from the queen, whose overwhelming message was simply one of gratitude to the people who served in the D-Day landings. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF ENGLAND: It is with humility and pleasure on behalf of the entire country, indeed, the whole free world, that I say to you all, thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: And that was the overwhelming theme and message of this entire event, one of profound gratitude to the men in particular who took part in the D-Day landings, the 130-plus men who stormed the beaches at Normandy and fell from the sky, whose courage, service, bravery and, in many cases, sacrifice and loss went on to have such profound effect on the war, its outcome and, indeed, what was to become the history of modern Europe -- Isa.
SOARES: Phil Black there for us in Portsmouth, England, thanks very much, Phil.
Kristie, to you in Hong Kong, it's incredible, very moving to hear that speech from the queen; more than anything, it's about the 30-plus veterans, these being commemorated. It was a moment for reflection but one of memory, really, a reflection of memory and the importance here of mass memory, Kristie.
STOUT: Yes --
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STOUT: -- of reflection and of gratitude. That simple message of thank you from the queen, very, very touching. Isa Soares, thank you so much.
You're watching NEWS STREAM and, still ahead, police raid the offices of Australia's national broadcaster. This is the second high profile raid on journalists this week and now the media is crying foul.
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STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is NEWS STREAM.
Now Australian media are crying foul after police raided the Sydney headquarters of the country's national broadcaster. Authorities say they carried out the raids of the government funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation over allegations it had published classified material concerning Afghanistan.
This is the second raid on a media outlet in just two days, prompting accusations of assaults on freedom of the press in Australia. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation says it is backing its reporters.
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CRAIG MCMURTRIE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION: We will be doing everything we can to limit the scope of this and we will do everything we can to stand by our reporters.
And a general observation, we always do whatever we can to stand by our sources, of course. And the other thing I want to make the point of is, this was outstanding reporting. It's two years ago. It was challenging content.
It was looking at the conduct of special forces in Afghanistan. It wasn't an easy subject matter to report on. But I invite anybody who wants to have another look at that content to take a look at it because it was clearly in the public interest. And sometimes difficult truths have to be told.
(END VIDEO CLIP) STOUT: Police say, despite the search carried out there, no arrests are planned today.
That is NEWS STREAM. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere, though. "WORLD SPORT" with Alex Thomas is next.
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