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NEWS STREAM

Syria Violence Continues; Iran Nuclear Talks; South Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis

Aired March 08, 2012 - 08:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

And we begin in Syria. And an apparent defection, as the man identifying himself as the deputy oil minister joins the fight against the government.

A powerful solar flare speeds toward the Earth, threatening to disrupt sensitive electronics.

And one year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, we hear how people are attempting to rebuild their town by rebuilding their lives first.

A high-ranking Syrian official has apparently resigned from the government to join what he calls "The Revolution of the Noble People." A man identifying himself as the deputy oil minister announced his decision in a video posted to YouTube, saying he doesn't want to serve the crimes of this regime. That comes after activists say government forces killed 40 people on Wednesday and 10 people so far this Thursday.

Now, this house blazes in the northern city of Idlib, where activists say they are expecting a full-fledged assault. And in Homs, video posted on YouTube shows this man shackled and covered in wounds, which activists say is evidence of torture at the military hospital. And CNN has no way to independently verify these YouTube images. The government blames terrorists for the violence.

Now, the U.N. humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, has visited Homs and describes the Baba Amr district as "devastated." And on Saturday, the U.N. Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will also travel to Syria to pressure the al- Assad regime.

Our Nic Robertson is monitoring Syria from Beirut, Lebanon. He joins us now.

And Nic, a high-level Syrian oil minister has defected. What impact will that have on the uprising?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly going to embolden them to feel that their effect is not just at a sort of grassroots level, not just at an activist level. We've seen activists today in a funeral in Damascus, the capital city, having a large protest. There was live video of that streamed from that protest inside a mosque, the beginning of the funeral, then going out onto the streets.

This is, given that it's in the capital, a brazen challenge to the authorities there. And according to the activists, after the video stopped recording there was a crackdown. So for activists like that, the fact that Abdo Mohammed (ph), the former vice minister of oil, has now joined their ranks. It's going to give them hope that the regime can finally crumble.

But as he has said since he's left the country and fled the country, he knows that it may be at some personal cost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For this, I decided to join the voice of the righteous, despite the notion that this regime will burn my house, harass my family, and will invent (ph) many lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And there's still killing going on today again from the north of the country, in Idlib. That house that had been shelled, you can hear the people who are filming that, the family around the person who's filming it, in absolute panic looking out of the window, seeing their neighbor's house on fire, watching as some of the neighbors escape there. And activists tell us that two people have died in the Idlib area, three (ph) in the east, in Deir ez-Zor, two people in Homs, the city that Valerie Amos visited yesterday. Twenty-six were killed in Homs yesterday.

And the people that have died, more in the south, as well, in the suburb of Damascus, have been killed. And amongst them, at least two children, we're told by activists, and one woman have been killed today. The death toll just continues to climb, and this is despite Valerie Amos, the U.N.'s top humanitarian representative, is in the country and has met - - perhaps today is meeting -- with further officials -- Kristie.

STOUT: That's what I was going to say, that the killing, the crackdown goes on, despite the presence of the U.N.'s Valerie Amos there.

Now, we know that Kofi Annan, the U.N. Arab League envoy to Syria, he will visit Damascus this weekend.

Nic, at this point, can diplomacy do anything to end the crisis?

ROBERTSON: Well, it doesn't appear to be able to do it at the moment. The Russians, who are Bashar al-Assad's principal backers, are indicating that what's been potentially on the table is a resolution that the U.N. is not good enough. We've had a Russian official suggesting that al Qaeda is rampant and on the loose in Syria, which plays absolutely into Bashar al- Assad's narrative that he is cracking down not on a popular uprising, but on terrorists.

It seems only -- perhaps of all the nations around the world, Russia clings to Assad's words more than any other country. No one else seems to believe that line at all. The opposition, as we've seen in all the videos that come out, it's been a popular uprising. The government trying to cast it as something else in the country.

So it doesn't seem at the moment that Bashar al-Assad is feeling any of that sort of international political isolation. So, therefore, it doesn't seem that, despite the visit of high-level diplomats to try and find a political solution, it doesn't seem that that is in the cards at the moment at all -- Kristie.

STOUT: No hope for a breakthrough this weekend.

Nic Robertson, joining us live.

Thank you very much, indeed.

Now, Human Rights Watch says at least 700 people were killed in Homs during a month-long bombardment, and many of them died in the Baba Amr neighborhood where a CNN crew spent three days reporting on the deteriorating situation.

Michael Holmes looks back at what they encountered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN's Arwa Damon, Neil Hallsworth (ph) and Tim Crocket (ph) are in Baba Amr, a neighborhood that's endured constant shelling, where civilians are killed and wounded every day, where a makeshift clinic tries to help.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here with Dr. Mohammed (ph), who has actually been on numerous YouTube videos throughout this uprising. And now we're actually getting a firsthand look at exactly what he and his team are up against.

(voice-over): A 30-year-old man lies on the brink of death after shrapnel hit him in the head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I couldn't really do anything for him. I just stitched him up to keep the brain matter in and inserted a tube. Actually, it's a nasal tube to suction the blood.

DAMON: He will die if he doesn't get out.

HOLMES: Dr. Mohammed (ph) is one of only two doctors in this clinic. The other is actually a dentist.

DAMON (on camera): Dr. Mohammed (ph), he's not some sort of front- line trained and emergency surgery combat medic.

HOLMES (on camera): Combat medic.

DAMON: He's an internal medicine specialist.

HOLMES: A GP.

DAMON: Yes. And now -- I mean, look at what he's dealing with. Look at the casualties that he's dealing with, the kind of casualties he's dealing with, the way he's had to cope. And the fact that it's day in and day out for him, it's relentless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And Arwa Damon shares more stories from Homs in "72 Hours Under Fire." Join us for a CNN special presentation. That's Saturday, 5:00 p.m., here in Hong Kong.

Now, world powers have issued a joint statement supporting a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with Iran, and calling for a serious dialogue. But Iran's parliament speaker warns those negotiations will fail if the West pressures Tehran.

Meanwhile, questions remain over Iran's nuclear ambitions and whether they pose an immediate threat.

Our Matthew Chance has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is Iran building an atomic bomb? For years, a key question the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has been trying to answer.

Iran has always denied it, but in an exclusive CNN interview, the U.N.'s atomic chief voices his suspicions.

YUKIYA AMANO, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: Lots of nuclear facilities in Iran are declared to the IAEA, and they are under the IAEA safeguards. For these facilities and activities, I can tell that they are in peaceful purpose. But there are also -- there may be other facilities which are not declared, and we have the indication or information that Iran has engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices.

CHANCE (on camera): So you think Iran might be lying when it says its activities are purely peaceful?

AMANO: Iran is not telling us everything. That is my impression. So we have to -- we are asking Iran to engage with us proactively, and Iran has a case to answer.

CHANCE (voice-over): That case has been catalogued in report after IAEA report issued here at its Vienna headquarters, suspicious sites, intelligence documents, satellite images provoking multiple resolutions at the U.N. Security Council, sanctions, even talk of military action, piling pressure on Iran, but also on the IAEA to get access.

(on camera): How are you going to achieve that though? Because Iran has been under IAEA inspection in recent years since 2003. Since 2003, the IAEA has been trying to establish the exact nature of Iran's nuclear program, and it's failed for the past nine years.

Do you have any confidence that that's going to change, that you can now get to the bottom of what Iran is doing?

AMANO: I am trying not to be optimistic nor pessimistic, but just for example, last year, in November, I have provided the basis of our concern more in details. The purpose is to alert the world, but also, we have identified the issues to be clarified. Unfortunately, we did not reach a concrete agreement on the document, but I'm open for dialogue, and in a constructive period (ph).

CHANCE (voice-over): That dialogue is soon to pick up. The five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany announcing nuclear talks will resume with Iran, possibly as early as next month.

Diplomats say the IAEA will be called on once again to verify what progress, if any, has been made.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Vienna.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

STOUT: Still to come here on NEWS STREAM, skirmishes continue along the Sudanese border with South Sudan. And we'll bring you an eyewitness account of the very desperate situation there.

And Japan's recovery one year after the tsunami. We'll check on the rebuilding effort.

All that just ahead, right here on NEWS STREAM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you are back watching NEWS STREAM.

Now, if you have a Facebook account, then you probably have seen the phrase "Kony 2012" pop up in your news feed. A video about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has gone viral on social media sites.

Now, this half-hour film, it follows an alleged former child soldier named Jacob. It has racked up nearly 27 million views on YouTube in just four days.

A San Diego-based nonprofit called Invisible Children produced this video, and the advocacy group says it wants to make Kony a household name. He led Uganda's Lord Resistance Army, or LRA.

Now, Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and other charges. But Invisible Children's awareness campaign has been met with some criticism. Several observers warn that the group has manipulated facts and say the film ignores atrocities committed by the Ugandan government.

Invisible Children is responding to its critics. A spokeswoman tells CNN the group had to simplify events for its target audience. And others have questioned the group's finances, saying most of the money does not go to programs in Africa. Invisible Children posted this breakdown of its expenses, saying its funds are split between awareness, advocacy and work on the ground.

So who is Joseph Kony? Well, he heads the LRA, which was formed in 1987 to oppose Uganda's leader and establish a theocratic government. The guerrilla group abducted villagers including children and forced them to fight or serve as sex slaves. Some former child soldiers say they had to murder their own parents.

The LRA constantly moves between neighboring countries, and Kony got support from the Sudanese government for years. He remains at large.

We've been reporting all this week about the desperate situation for people caught in the fighting between Sudan and South Sudan. Now the U.N. Security Council is demanding an end to the conflict so aid workers can be allowed in to provide help to the people who need it the most.

And for the families living in constant fear of attacks, support cannot come too soon, as Inigo Gilmore reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INIGO GILMORE, REPORTER (voice-over): Sudanese villages burned and emptied, churches bombed and ruined, people on the run. But this isn't Darfur, it's the border region between the countries of Sudan and the newly-independent South Sudan. Separating the two was supposed to bring peace, but for the forgotten people along this still-disputed border, it's getting more dangerous by the day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): They attack us with airplanes and tanks.

GILMORE: Plumes of smoke in the distance signal when military (INAUDIBLE) planes have apparently just dropped their bombs. Suddenly, the sound of a plane right overhead. Women and children run to take cover.

This time, a lucky escape. They have made improvised bomb shelters all around here to hide from the bombings that have killed many civilians.

For some time, this area was completely inaccessible because of the fighting. We're the first journalists to reach this village. We were shown where cluster bombs have apparently been dropped just days earlier.

These black Africans from the Nuba tribes in the disputed south Kordofan region say a bloody campaign by the Arab-led northern government to put down a local insurgency is indiscriminately targeting civilians. The former head of the U.N. in Khartoum, Mukesh Kapila, who witnessed the onset of the atrocities in Darfur, has come with a human rights charity to witness what's happening here.

Rebel soldiers fighting for autonomy have just driven out the Sudanese government soldiers from these villages. They show Mukesh Kapila landmines which they say were left behind by government troops. Kapila says they are illegal.

MUKESH KAPILA, FMR. U.N. REPRESENTATIVE IN SUDAN: Hundreds of mines like this one in my hand have been planted around the houses in the neighborhood, placing ordinary people, civilians, mothers, children, animals at risk. This is a crime against humanity.

GILMORE: The Sudanese government is refusing to allow aid groups access to these areas. And with food growing scarce, Nuba are fleeing across the border to South Sudan. This camp in Yida is now home to tens of thousands of refugees.

KAPILA: You have lost 10 members of your family.

GILMORE: All of these women have terrible stories of the killings and displacement of their loved ones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because why the people get killed by handguns by (INAUDIBLE).

GILMORE: The people who made it here are the lucky ones, for now. But there are fears this is just the beginning of a massive humanitarian crisis, one of famine on both sides of the border.

Inigo Gilmore, South Kordofan, Sudan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: In response to allegations that Sudanese forces have planted landmines in South Kordofan, the Sudanese Embassy in Washington denounced what it calls malicious statements made by Kapila. "It is the rebels themselves that have been planting mines if there are any. They've been the ones targeting civilians."

Now, the embassy statement also says a "recent assessment carried out jointly by U.N. agencies, NGOs and Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission deemed the situation as stable, a credit to the government of Sudan."

Coming up next here on NEWS STREAM, the human face of Japan's recovery effort, how residents of one town are trying to rebuild their lives and their community after the tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Nearly one year ago Japan shook through that 9.0 magnitude quake, the strongest recorded one in its history. And the epicenter was here, 130 kilometers east of Sendai, off the coast of Honshu, Japan's biggest island.

And the resulting tsunami hit countless towns, including Rikuzentakata. More than 20,000 people once lived there. Its white, sandy beaches made the town a popular tourist destination, but that was all wiped away by a wall of water that reached kilometers inland.

Let's take a closer look at the extent of the damage.

This is an image of Atomo (ph) in Rikuzentakata back in 2005. And this is the town after the tsunami hit in 2011. The community is still very much in recovery mode, and one man is leading the rebuilding effort. He is the mayor, a survivor who lost his wife in the disaster.

Kyung Lah has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Futoshi Toba is still getting used to driving his two kids to school, not knowing what to really say to them. His wife did all of this before she died in the tsunami, turning not only his world upside-down, but Rikuzentakata, the city he governs as mayor.

(on camera): How challenging is it juggling be a father and the mayor of this place?

(voice-over): "To be honest," he says, "I haven't done enough for my boys as a father. But I try to be with them when I have time."

Time is in short supply for Mayor Toba. The work is overwhelming getting funding for an eight-year reconstruction plan, dealing with all the wounded neighbors, and still clearing the rubble in a city gutted by the tsunami at a cost of $1.6 billion.

(on camera): One out of 10 people in Rikuzentakata died in the tsunami. Then, more than 1,000 survivors left here, seeing little hope for the city's future. And you can see why.

This is one of the main roads in Rikuzentakata's downtown. A year later, there is still nothing here.

(voice-over): "Rebuilding Rikuzentakata will only work if survivors refuse to give up," says nurse Fumiko Suzuki (ph). We met her last year, right after the tsunami hit. She was in shock after losing everything, including her bed-ridden patients, a dozen who drowned as she made the gut- wrenching decision to save her own life and run to the roof.

(on camera): Are you still in the process of healing?

(voice-over): "One year isn't enough to heal," she says. "My job is to be with people and share their pain." That's why she won't leave her job or her town.

(on camera): When you look at the City Hall, do you ever get used to the sight?

(voice-over): "I don't like to come down here," says Mayor Toba. He only came here for this interview. Toba tries to keep his mind on the future, because the past is too painful.

(on camera): Do you miss your wife?

(voice-over): "It's so hard for me," he says, "to live without the person who was supposed to always be with me. I feel her telling me to work hard for this town. Someday soon my sons will look at this town and understand why their father wasn't around more."

The mayor, his sons, the survivors still getting used to the new reality, rebuilding their town by rebuilding their lives.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Rikuzentakata, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now, in the aftermath of the tsunami, we saw many striking images. And here is yet another reminder of just how powerful the tsunami was.

This is Anna Coren reporting from Kesennuma, in northern Japan, in the shadow of a giant ship. It is 60 meters long. It weighs 330 tons. It was swept half a kilometer inland. The ship is surrounded by a virtual wasteland.

Anna has been reporting all week as part of our look at Japan one year after the disaster. You can watch more from Anna on our Web site. Just go to CNN.com/RebuildingJapan.

Now, still to come here on NEWS STREAM, we'll examine the new Apple iPad, see if it lives up to expectations.

And we'll find out why a legendary filmmaker is trying to reach the deepest point in the ocean.

All that coming up right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.

Now new video from Syria shows a UN delegation visiting the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs on Wednesday. UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos said the area was devastated and nearly deserted. Activists say 26 people were killed elsewhere in the city on Wednesday.

World powers are urging Iran to engage in serious dialogue about its nuclear program without preconditions. This statement is from the five permanent security council members and Germany. The group says it also wants to see a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

The British defense ministry has identified six soldiers who are presumed dead following an explosion in Afghanistan. And five of the six were under the age of 22. They've been missing since their armored vehicle hit a land mine in Helmand Province on Tuesday. The Taliban are claiming responsibility for the attack.

And blame the sun if you're having trouble communicating today. Energy suppliers and airlines on alert because of a geomagnetic solar storm produced by the biggest solar flares in more than five years. NASA says the storm could be active through Friday morning.

Now Apple has taken the wraps off the latest iPad. Along with a faster processor and a better camera, the new iPad has a much sharper screen, so sharp Apple says you can't pick out the individual pixels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL SCHILLER, APPLE: When you hold it at a normal distance, in this case 15 inches or even closer your retina in your eye cannot discern those individual pixels. It is enough pixel density that you can't pick out the pixels. And images on it look stunning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And if the new iPad looks slightly familiar to you that's because you might have seen it before on News Stream.

Now here's our Dan Simon with his hands on the new iPad just minutes after it was unveiled in San Francisco.

And this is the new alleged iPad shell we showed you on yesterday's show. You'd have to play with the new iPad to confirm, but it looks like the parts match what Apple unveiled on Wednesday.

You'll notice that Apple isn't calling it the iPad 3 or iPad HD, it's just iPad. And the Apple name game has led one tech pundit to quip if this is the new iPad is the next one going to be called the New New iPad? We'll have to wait and see.

Now film director James Cameron is one step closer to exploring the deepest point in the world's oceans. He went for a test dive in his submersible earlier this week to a depth of 8 kilometers in a trench off Papua New Guinea. But Cameron, he wants to reach this point, the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 11 kilometers below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. And the bottom of the trench is deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Only two people in history have been down there.

And CNN has been able to witness James Cameron's preparations for this remarkable quest. Jason Carroll traveled to Papua New Guinea to meet James Cameron and his crew. He joins me now live from New York. And Jason what a journey. Tell us all about it.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it was incredible.

You know, James Cameron is actually living an explorer's dream. But you know this is not just about exploration, it's about science, and possibly discovering new forms of life and what has got to be the planet's final frontier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: James Cameron is on a mission. And what you're seeing is another step, or better to say dive, towards reaching it.

JAMES CAMERON, DIRECTOR: It goes by fast. No it does. I mean, it's so exciting, because every second you're seeing something cool.

I'm telling you, I'm wiped out after the dive, because your brain is going 1,000 miles an hour.

CARROLL: Though Cameron may be best known for directing two of the highest grossing films of all-time, Avatar and Titanic, he is also known in the scientific community as an accomplished deep sea explorer. And after working for several years Cameron and his team of scientists have created a technologically advanced sub to take him to the deepest known point on the planet.

In a joint project with the National Geographic Society, Cameron sets his sight on Challenger Deep, it's carved in the Mariana Trench, some 36,000 feet below the surface, nearly seven miles down.

CAMERON: I want to get down there and look around and image and use these 3D cameras and bring it all back so people can see what's' there, you know.

I mean, it's he last unexplored frontier on the planet.

CARROLL: Cameron has take his sub, aptly named Deepsea Challenger, on a series of test dives. Already, they've collected strange looking organisms at depths so extreme it would crush a man. It's a treasure trove for scientists. And on this day, our cameras are invited for a key test dive.

CAMERON: We're going to 26,000 feet. We, meaning me and the sub, tomorrow afternoon. You're not coming. It's a one-seater.

CARROLL: But the test at 26,000 feet cut a little short.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Deepsea Challenger is requesting permission to ascend, over.

CARROLL: Deepsea Challenger made it to a little more than 23,800 feet then had to come back.

CAMERON: Good news is now officially the deepest diving submersible in the world. The bad news is, never saw the bottom, had about five major systems failures that prevented me from going on.

CARROLL: But Cameron and his team did go on to reach a point beyond 26,000 feet. Their next step -- Challenger Deep.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And Cameron has been on more than 70 submersible dives, 50 of those at deep sea depths. So he is well aware of the risks that are involved here, but once again, Kristie, he is dedicated to science and has the desire to explore. So we'll see what happens.

LU STOUT: Good to hear.

And in his desire to explore and to reach so deep below the ocean surface, 11 kilometers below, tell us more about his tool, namely the submersible, the sub.

CARROLL: Ah, yes, the one that is called Deepsea Challenger. Well, you know, it weight 12 tons. It's 24 feet high. And when most people think of a sub, they think of it in that way, as you see there, vertical, but it actually travels in a horizontal direction like you see there. Imagine it sort of being like a seahorse, that's how it's going to maneuver when he makes it down to -- if he makes it down to Challenger Deep level.

And you've got to remember, it's got to withstand incredible pressure, 16,500 pounds of pressure per square inch. So this sub is really a scientifically, you know, evolved type of vessel. Every sort of inch of that in some way has been invented to withstand the extreme pressures at those depths.

LU STOUT: Incredible, pushing new records and perhaps finding new worlds. Jason Carroll joining us live from New York. Thank you.

Now today, women's rights are being promoted around the world. International Women's Day celebrates more than 100 years of achievements since the suffrage movement. And it also highlights problems that still persist.

And one country that often faces criticism for its treatment of women is Afghanistan. A recent guidelines allowing men to occasionally beat their wives was backed by President Hamid Karzai. But things have improved since the fall of the Taliban. And as Nick Paton-Walsh reports, one woman is using street art to make a statement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON-WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When the Soviets loomed large here, they built this -- a cultural center. It was ripped apart by civil war, but is now adorned by graffiti, the best work these wispy figures of hope to some. The work of one of Afghanistan's more radical, and perhaps bravest artists, Shampsia Hassani (ph).

SHAMSIA HASSANI, GRAFFITI ARTIST: Usually I use brush and canvas on something like this. I like to do (inaudible) with broken in some real shapes, because I want to show them it's a new mother and (inaudible). And you can see the shapes. It's very happy, I think.

The blue color is the freedom color, but it's not freedom for woman. The blue color always is like a cage for them. But now I want to change the meaning of (inaudible) in Afghanistan. It's not a cage, it's a kind of (inaudible).

PATON-WALSH: Taught by a British artist, she says she's not political. But being a public woman is by default political in conservative Afghanistan. She graffitis here among the stench of trash, syringes and rubble, because it's not safe to paint in the street.

You have to do your graffiti in secret don't you really?

HASSANI: Not secret, but for now it should be a secret.

PATON-WALSH: For now it should be secret.

HASSANI: I should do (inaudible) because after a bad situation I can not go to outside to do graffiti.

PATON-WALSH: It's dangerous.

HASSANI: Not dangerous, but the situation -- I don't know, it's not - - it's not OK for that.

PATON-WALSH: It's a complicated time for women in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai days ago gave backing to a harsh edict from senior clerics that said it might sometimes be OK for a man to beat his wife and that women should be segregated. Fears are growing that one of the first victim's of NATO's withdrawal here could be the gains of the last decade in women's rights.

Uncertainty that Shamsia (ph), who won't speak ill of the Taliban or government, tries to capture in her art.

HASSANI: And we were sitting in (inaudible) thinking that can she go up or maybe come down again? She is uncertain state -- maybe go up, and maybe come down. I don't know.

PATON-WALSH: You're worried that when NATO starts to leave, things will get more difficult for women?

HASSANI: Maybe.

PATON-WALSH: It is already too much for some. Three of Afghanistan's 10 graffiti artists used to be women. Now there's one.

HASSANI: The 10 artists who started all up and left their work.

PATON-WALSH: Because it was too difficult.

HASSANI: It was difficult. And they couldn't continue. I don't know the reason. We should ask them.

PATON-WALSH: So the women stopped.

HASSANI: These constraints don't stop her dreaming. She can't paint the entire building, so instead used a computer to simulate what she'd like to do. Amid the war and depression, her work is statement of hope, a dream of the impossible.

Nick Paton-Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now ahead here on News Stream, from humble beginnings in China to top executive in Silicon Valley. We'll speak with one woman who is paving the way to success in a male dominated industry. We'll have more on how she stays ahead of the game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

And on this International Women's Day CNN is launching a new series spotlighting female leaders in their field. For the first time in history, women around the world hold more than 1 in 10 board seats. As you can see the biggest percentage is found in Norway. But down at the bottom, just one person of board positions in Japan are held by women.

Now the most power female friendly industries include retail and the media. And in the tech sector, it's harder to break past the boy's club. But we met one woman who is leading the charge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: She's likely the most unconventional top executive you'll ever meet.

WEILI DAI, CEO MARVELL TECHNOLOGY: It's very cost effective.

LU STOUT: She calls herself a geek. And it's easy to see why.

DAI: People today are developing technology really need to address any size type market (inaudible).

LU STOUT: The former software engineer is the only woman to have co- founded a global high tech company. From one of the world's top chip makers and is a beacon in California's renowned Silicon Valley.

17 years after starting the company with her husband and her brother- in-law, and now $1 billion richer, she has a potent message for anyone who will listen.

DAI: I believe every single woman could accomplish what I accomplished.

Yeah, we're the glue, right? Woman is the glue.

LU STOUT: This dynamo with a multitude of talents is Weili Dai.

As co-founder of Marvell Technology, Weili Dai counts some of tech's biggest companies as her partners or customers. On this day, she's speaking at a luncheon at Microsoft. We tag along to follow this busy executive through her day. It's a packed room filled with industry leaders and government officials eager to hear from IT execs on the latest in cloud computing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the rare panels that has as many women as men, which I think is extremely good.

DAI: Think of all of you guys carrying some kind of devices. Guess what, you need to get the live data from the cloud. So we can't avoid access the cloud, that's why I called it like the air you breath every day, it's a necessity.

LU STOUT: If this all sounds, well, a bit cloudy, and you're wondering why you may have never heard of Marvell, Dai says she's used to it. But rest assured, her company has likely touched your life in some way.

DAI: If you think about Marvell, we're the total solution providers. And we're the pizza dough. We make the pizza dough, the tomato sauce are different operating system such as the Google, the Microsoft, Apple, Ren (ph), and the toppings are the applications.

So essentially we are the one-stop shop providing the guts of the electronic products in a word.

LU STOUT: This all amounts to selling more than 1 billion chips a year. The company reports its revenues topped more than $3 billion in 2011, not bad since it was Dai's idea to start the company which eventually formed in 1995.

As vice president, general manager of communications and consumer business, Dai is a very public face for Marvell. Despite her founder and top executive status, she sits in a cubicle like her employees and still meets face to face with clients.

She hasn't strayed from her sales instinct, getting back to when she landed the company's very first client. Whether at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, in her native China, or in Washington, she is a visible figure on the global IT circuit and that every opportunity she touts the virtues of Marvell's latest innovation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the device?

DAI: This is the mobile, private cloud. Things like this very affordable. And it'll -- you know, for classrooms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much does that go for per unit?

DAI: $20.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really? Wow.

DAI: Any new technology adoption you have to make it very affordable.

LU STOUT: Dai says it is critical to stay on top of the devices powered by Marvell's chips, including the latest generation Google TV which the search giant unveiled earlier this year.

DAI: And I'm so proud we've developed such advanced technology and partnering with Google and other partners in the ecosystem. I care about my partners, my customer. I care about their success, because I believe only if they succeed and we'll be part of the success.

LU STOUT: More than 30 years after coming to the U.S. from China, Weili Dai's impact is not limited to business. In the coming weeks you'll find out more about Dai's path to success, passion for education.

DAI: Oh, pleasure meeting you.

LU STOUT: Her family, and her life as a Chinese-American.

DAI: I love both countries. The motherland, the new motherland, both are dear to my heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And next week we will introduce you to this month's other leading woman. It's the fashion designer Caroline Herrera. You'll see that Tuesday right here on News Stream.

Now still to come on News Stream, the sports world hails Lio Messi after the Barcelona star's latest great feat. Alex Thomas will be here to attempt to describe his magical performance next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now Barcelona winning their latest Champion's League match was no surprise, neither was Lio Messi scoring, but five goals? That was something special.

Alex Thomas is in London. He's got the details -- Alex.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kristie, there are good footballers, very good footballers, great ones, then there is Lionel Messi. After becoming the first player to score five goals in a Champion's League match, the Barcelona star has reignited the debate about where he ranks among the sport's all-time legends.

Messi's latest history making feat came in the second leg in Barca's round of 16 match against Bundisliga club Bayer Leverkusen. The Argentine forward's five goal haul helped his side win 10-2 on aggregate. Messi is now just seven goals away from becoming Barcelona's highest ever scorer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEP GUARDIOLA, BARCELONA MANAGER (through translator): He is the best. I am lucky to be, lucky to have been his trainer. I will always be able to say that I have trained him. He is a unique player.

ROBIN DUTT, BAYER LEVERKUSEN MANAGER (through translator): There are scarcely words that describe the way he plays football. He is in a class of his own of course. There is no question.

Barcelona, I think, are the best team even without Messi. But with Messi they are almost in another galaxy.

GUARDIOLA: I imagine everyone said nobody would be better than Di Stefano at that time. Then nobody was like Cruyff, then Maradonna. I'll also mention Pele so that he doesn't get offended. Now this guy owns the throne. And he will be the only to decide when he leaves it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: And in world sport in just over three hours time, Pedro Pinto will add his voice to the growing tribute for Lio Messi.

Now an emotional Peyton Manning is looking for a new NFL team after his 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts came to an end. Together, they reached the playoffs 11 times and won the 2007 Super Bowl, but the day before Manning was due to get a multimillion bonus the quarterback and Colts owner Jim Irsay announced the partnership was over. The New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins have both been mentioned as possible destinations for the league's only four time MVP.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEYTON MANNING, QUARTERBACK: I've been a Colt for almost all of my adult life, but I guess in life and in sports we all know that nothing lasts forever. Times change, circumstances change, and that's the reality of playing in the NFL.

Jim and I have spoken extensively about where we are today. And our conversations have led both of us to recognize that our circumstances make it best for us to take this next step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: A minute ago we were telling you about dominating football at the age of 24. Derrick Rose is a year younger. And while he may not have quite the same impact on the NBA, he's the reigning MVP and produced something special in Chicago's latest game.

Rose and the Bulls playing the Bucks for the last time this season. Having won all their previous encounters, Chicago only has a two point lead here in the fourth and Rose takes it all the way for the lay-up. And then with 30 seconds on the clock Brandon Jennings misses the floater for Milwaukee, but Ersan Ilyasova is there for the putback. Ilyasova with a career high 32 points.

So the score is tied at 104 apiece. The Bulls get one last chance to win it. The stage set for Rose. He puts on a show, making space for the fadeaway jumper as the buzzer sounds, mobbed by his teammates. He salutes the crowd. 30 points and 11 assists for the young man as Chicago win 8 in a row.

That's all the sport for now, Kristie, back to you in Hong Kong.

LU STOUT: Alex, thank you.

Now the European Union has had to withdraw an online ad costing almost $200,000 after complaints it was racist. The commercial, it was intended to illustrate different cultures moving from conflict to harmony, but after complaints about the stereotypical characterization of sword waving Arabs and Asian martial arts masters, they dropped the campaign. A spokesman said it was not intended to be racist and we regret that it was perceived that way.

And that is News Stream. World Business Today is next.

END