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NEWS STREAM
MIT Students Develop Solution To Ketchup Bottle; Facebook Launches Camera App; Interview With Chen Guangcheng; UN Secretary-General: No Plan B For Syria
Aired May 25, 2012 - 8:00 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. Welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet. And we begin with Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist who escaped from custody and moved to the U.S. speaks to CNN.
Egypt starts to count votes in its historic presidential election.
And Facebook unveils a new camera app, but we're not talking about Instagram.
Now history is being made some 400 kilometers above Earth. For the first time ever, a commercial spacecraft is approaching the International Space Station. Now this unprecedented mission, it started early on Tuesday with this launch. And right now the real test for Space X and its Dragon capsule.
ISS flight engineers, they are preparing to grapple Dragon. Now that was scheduled to already be underway, but has been pushed back about an hour. We will bring it to you live when it begins. And this process of pulling the capsule toward the station, it should take about three hours.
Now the activist Chen Guangcheng he says he will not stop fighting against human rights abuses in China. He left his homeland for New York last weekend and sat down with CNN for his for U.S. TV interview. Now Chen says he fears for the friends and family he left behind.
Now his brother recently fled their village in Shangdong Province. And the escape was similar to the one that Chen made in April.
Now Cheng Guangcheng spoke to Anderson Cooper about why he did what he did and his plans for the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): On the night of April 22, a blind activist in China makes a daring escape. Chen Guangcheng, a self- taught lawyer and advocate for the poor, had been a prisoner in his own home for more than 18 months. During that time, he and his wife were periodically and savagely beaten by their Chinese guards.
In his first television interview, Chen says he needed to find a way out.
(on camera): You were under house arrest. What was that like?
CHEN GUANGCHENG, CHINESE DISSIDENT (through translator): I want to correct one thing here. When we talk about my situation, in the future, let's not use the word house arrest, but instead let's use the term illegal detention.
It's hard for me to describe what it was like during that time. But let's just say that my suffering was beyond imagination.
COOPER: Did you feel like there was an end to it? Did it feel like it was just going to go on and on?
CHEN (through translator): I didn't see much hope.
COOPER (voice-over): Chen is known as the barefoot lawyer in China, a well-known activist who became a target after he filed a class-action lawsuit in 2005 on behalf of poor women who say they were subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations as part of China's one-child policy.
Soon after filing the lawsuit, Chen was arrested and jailed for more than four years.
(on camera): You filed a class-action suit on behalf of these women. Did you know that the state would -- would arrest you? Did you know that you would get in trouble?
CHEN (through translator): It would be dishonest of me to say I've never thought of it. But I didn't imagine they would disregard the law so blatantly.
COOPER: Why did you begin to speak out?
CHEN (through translator): It was very natural for me. I feel it's in people's nature to want to stop evil and embrace the good. So there is really nothing special there. It was just how I reacted naturally.
COOPER You say it's natural to want to speak out against evil, but many people remain silent.
CHEN (through translator): I only feel it's a natural reaction from my heart. My nature wouldn't allow me to sit idly by and disregard what was going on. I think everybody should act that way.
COOPER (voice-over): After his release, he was detained in his home. Activists, friends and journalists tried to visit him over the years, only to be violently repelled by the guards who were always outside. Actor Christian Bale was with a CNN crew in 2011 when he tried to go to Chen's house to talk with him.
CHRISTIAN BALE, ACTOR: Why can I not go visit this man? Why can I not go visit this man? Tell me why I cannot go to visit him? He's a free man.
COOPER: After months of planning, Chen scaled the wall around his house, slipped past his guards, and wandered through the countryside for more than 20 hours, falling down some 200 times, he says, injuring his foot. Finally, he was able to call a friend for help.
CHEN (through translator): After evading danger and obstacles I was able to get out of Dongshigu village. And then I called my good friend, Go Ushan (ph) in Beijing. He quickly led a team to find me and drove me to Beijing. While in Beijing, he found me a safe place to stay temporarily, but then we started to worry about my safety because of my experience in 2005.
COOPER: Worried for his safety, Chen's friends helped him seek refuge in the U.S. embassy.
CHEN (through translator): When a group of people come together and accomplish something, they often fight for credit. But in my case, all those people who went to Shandong to pick me, up when the news broke they were fighting for risk and not credit. They were all trying to claim responsibility to make others safer. I think this shows me hope in the growth of civil society in China.
COOPER: After negotiations between the U.S. and China, Chen was finally allowed to leave Beijing, flying to America on a one-year student visa.
(on camera) I understand that on Sunday, you spent some time out in the sun. You know, it was the first time you had been able to sit out in the sun for a long time.
CHEN (through translator): I hadn't been able to feel nature for a long time. On that day, I had some time to soak in the sun and feel the breeze. I had missed out for too long.
COOPER (voice-over): Chen has not sought asylum. Though he's enjoying his temporary freedom, he worries for his friends and family back home.
(on camera) Your nephew has been charged with intentional homicide for -- for defending himself against the people who broke into -- into his house as they were searching for you. What do you think is going to happen to him? Are they trying to punish you through him?
CHEN (through translator): You can already see what's happened to him. It's clear they want to convict him.
COOPER: Your mother is also still in China. There's reports your brother actually escaped illegal detention back in his home village. Do you worry about them, as well?
CHEN (through translator): Of course, I'm very worried. You can see their retribution against my family since my escape has continued and been intensified.
COOPER: Do you regret speaking out? I mean, given all you've been through -- arrested for four years, illegally detained in your home, you and your wife -- do you regret speaking out?
CHEN (through translator): No, I have no regrets. But I also want to thank all of the friends who helped me, including my family members and supporters. I'm very concerned about the safety of some of them.
COOPER (voice-over): Chen, his wife and two children have only been in the U.S. for less than a week. Whether he'll ever be able to return to China is unclear. He vows he will continue to speak out.
CHEN (through translator): I don't feel much pressure. It's just a matter of time. I've only been here for a short time. If the pressure in Shandong couldn't silence me, I don't think any other pressure would be able to silence me.
COOPER: Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now Chen's brother Chen Guangfu also spoke to the media recently. He is currently in Beijing seeking legal help for his son who has been charged with attempted murder. Now the Chen family calls it a trumped up charge and says that authorities beat them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN GUANGFU, CHEN GUANGCHENG'S BROTHER (through translator): My belt is made of cow leather. It's very strong. And they took it out. Using my belt, they whipped my hands which were tied behind my back. One of my thumbs feels numb now and has lost all feeling. Some guy stepped on my foot with his leather shoe, ground it and stamped my toes. The beatings lasted for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now CNN's calls to local officials have all gone unanswered.
Now turning now to Syria. The UN Secretary-General has voiced what many have long feared that there is no back-up plan for Syria if monitors stationed there cannot contain the violence.
Now Ban Ki-Moon told Christiane Amanpour that a full compliment of 300 observers would be on the ground at flashpoints across the country in the coming days. But an independent panel commissioned by the UN concedes that gross violations continue unabated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But what is the plan B? How to take up this matter as you said? What will be the absolute solution to stopping this carnage?
BAN KI-MOON, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: At this time we don't have any plan B. The joint special envoy Kofi Annan has proposed a six peace proposals among which a complete cessation of violence is number one. Unfortunately, this has not bee implemented while with the deployment of monitoring missions we have seen some dampening effect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now dampening effect or not, the deadly violence goes on. Opposition forces say about 40 people were killed on Thursday.
Now Rima Maktabi joins us now live from Beirut. And Rima, Friday is a day of prayer and protest inside Syria. What's the latest?
RIMA MAKTABI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, according to activists at least eight people have been killed. And probably as we're speaking the death toll is on the rise in Syria. There were planned protests across the country, even in cities that have been considered at hot spots in Syria. And so we're talking about Homs, Hamaa, some neighborhoods of Damascus, and also Dara Zul (ph), and Daraa.
It's quite significant that this protest continue despite the military's crackdown and despite the presence of 250 UN observers. We see these protests. Now we also heard reports of shelling on certain neighborhoods in Homs whereas other neighborhoods in Homs witnessed some protests, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Now Ban Ki-Moon, the UN chief, he says that there is no plan B if monitors cannot contain the violence. And they're not containing the violence, the violence goes on. Do Arab leaders have a plan B?
MAKTABI: I've seen officials over the past weeks from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Lebanon. And I've heard from them that there isn't -- there is neither a plan B nor an end game strategy. A lot of discussions are happening behind the scenes. Officials on high level in the Arab League and in Arab countries are discussing who is next in Syria. And with the divisions SNC, Syrian National Council, and the opposition, there isn't much hope who will lead Syria after Bashar al-Assad. And what is the way out for Bashar al-Assad?
The majority of the people and the officials I've spoken to say the longer it takes in Syria the more dangerous it is. And the danger of the country slipping, or going into a civil war. And this civil war will not only target Syria, but also countries like Lebanon.
LU STOUT: OK, Rima Maktabi reporting live from Lebanon. Thank you very much indeed for that.
Now up next here on News Stream, the result of a revolution, some 25 million Egyptians voted this week in the country's first ever free and fair elections. The question now is who have they chosen?
And no breakthrough at talks in Baghdad. The standoff with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions continues.
And a woman who says she was forced into prostitution in Peru. Her powerful story of survival next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now after two days of voting, they are now counting ballots in Egypt's historic presidential election. The head of the country's presidential election committee says about half of Egypt's 50 million registered voters went to the polls he says to ease concerns about possible vote tampering the ballot counts at various polling stations is being monitored by a judge and representatives for the candidates. And you can see results by the end of Friday.
Now if no candidate gets a majority, a runoff election will be held next month. And according to the Muslim Brotherhood its candidate Mohammed Morsi is likely to make that run-off. And Ben Wedeman talks with voters about his appeal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fatima (ph) couldn't make it up the stairs to vote, she had a stroke a few months ago, so election workers brought the papers, the ballot, and the ink to her.
"I want the scale," she says, referring to the electoral symbol for the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi.
In a country where almost a third of all adults are illiterate the symbol is key.
"We want him to fix the country," she tells me. "We want him to look after the Muslims and care for our children."
The Brotherhood's popularity is based upon a network of social services the Egyptian state can't or won't provide and the perception among many that the brothers are pious and untainted by corruption.
Since its founding more than 80 years ago, the Muslim Brotherhood has struggled against successive regimes in Egypt. And since the revolution have flexed its muscles in the parliamentary elections and now in the race for the presidency.
Given that this is Egypt's first ever truly free presidential election, there's very little that can be predicted with any certainty. However, one thing is certain, and that is that the Muslim Brotherhood is this country's best organized and largest political bloc.
Once again, the Brotherhood has managed to mobilize the faithful like no one else. Women, religious and secular, wait in line patiently to cast their ballots at a school in the working class Cairo suburb of Shubra el- Khaima (ph). There's strong support for the brother over here, though not necessarily strong awareness among some of the voters.
I asked this woman who she'll vote for.
"The scales," she says looking down at a scrap of paper.
You mean Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, I say. What do you like about him?
"I don't know," she replies. "But I've heard he's good."
Mohammed says of the Brotherhood candidate, "he's an islamist. He'll fix the country with his own hands."
The appeal to religion does not, however, win over everyone.
"The Brotherhood had no connection with Islam," says Hossein, a construction worker. "We're all Muslims. I don't have to grow a beard to be a Muslim."
Mechanic Ahmed Abdelnebi (ph) is voting for Morsi of the Brotherhood, but warns his support shouldn't be taken for granted.
"We'll give him a chance," he says. "if there's freedom and progress. If not, after four years we'll get rid of him."
Even those who claim to have god on their side need the voters.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Shubra el-Khaima (ph), Egypt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Significant differences: those are the words of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton after two days of talks with Iran about its nuclear ambitions. Now negotiators from Iran and six world powers met in Baghdad on Wednesday and Thursday. Iran is still rejecting international calls to stop the high enrichment of uranium, which it is feared could be used to make nuclear weapons.
Now meanwhile, Tehran's call for an easing of international sanctions was also rejected.
And still, Iran's top negotiator Saeed Jalili says both sides are serious about moving forward in the talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAEED JALILI, IRAN'S SUPREME NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL DIRECTOR (through translator): We believe that we have always said the thing which could break this deadlock is the attitude and the strategy of cooperation. I have always said that the strategy of pressure would make the strategy of talks to come to the end.
The time for pressure and the strategy of pressure is over. But we have still time for the strategy of talks and cooperation and could bring a bright horizon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And there may be some progress. Iran, and the six world powers have agreed to meet again next month in Moscow.
Now new French President Francois Hollande is on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. He held a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai after their meeting in Kabul as Mr. Hollande's first trip there since he took office earlier this month. And he reaffirmed that France will withdraw its 2,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year.
And still to come on News Stream, human trafficking in Peru helping women and children forced into prostitution. The difficulties they and officials face. Part of CNN's Freedom Project.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Live from Hong Kong, you are back watching News Stream.
And to Peru now and the story of a young woman who has become a symbol in the fight against human trafficking. Now Jhinna Pinchi is making history as the first victim to face her alleged captors in Peruvian court. Nick Valencia has her story as part of CNN's Freedom Project.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In September 2009, after two years of forced prostitution, Jhinna Pinchi says she escaped her captors.
JHINNA PINCHI, HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIM (subtitles): A place so far away from my hometown. I didn't know Piura.
VALENCIA: Pinchi tells her tragic story in this documentary made by a Peruvian non-profit. In the film, partly funded by the British embassy in Peru. Pinchi says she was encouraged to leave her home in search of a better future. Instead, she says, she ended up trapped.
RICARDO VALDES, CHS ALTERNATIVE (through translator): It's a thin line, but basically consists in two elements. One is the loss of freedom, and the other is the way they're moved from one place to another.
PINCHI: For me it was torture.
VALENCIA: Pinchi says she told her story to customers at a nearby bar, but no one would help. Prostitution is legal in Peru. Sex trafficking is not. But it's very hard to prove in court.
It's been two years since Pinchi's accused trafficker was charged, yet he's still free awaiting trial. He denies the charges. Pinchi is in victim's protection, but her story is not an isolated one. Last week, police rescued five children they say were victims of trafficking. 10 suspects were detained. And police say there is enough evidence to file charges, something that rarely happens in Peru.
VALDES (through translator): The tests have to be very solid. There must be a lot of intelligence work. There must be testimony, evidence, the prosecutor must be involved from the beginning.
VALENCIA: According to official police figures, there have been at least 1,500 trafficking victims in Peru over the last eight years. But even the police admit the real number is probably higher.
Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now to find out more, just head to our special website at CNN.com/Freedom. And you'll find a lot of background information and ways to get involved. And check out some of the videos posted by our iReporters. It's all here at CNN.com/Freedom.
Now some amazing video to show you now. This is a dash cam video. It was apparently taken from an SUV driving along a Russian highway when an oncoming tractor trailer rounds the corner, tips over, and slams head on into it. Now the truck driver apparently took the turn too quickly. Luckily everyone survived. Incredible video.
Coming up next here on News Stream, grief turns to anger in Japan. Why some are losing confidence in the government over its handling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis. We're live in Tokyo next.
And what happened to Etan Patz? 33 years after the six year old went missing in New York a man is arrested. And police say he has confessed to killing the boy. That story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
Now ballots are being counted after two days of voting in what is said to be Egypt's first free and fair presidential election. The Muslim Brotherhood says it looks like there will be a run-off next month between its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, and former Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik.
Now new French President Francois Hollande arrived unannounced in Afghanistan on Friday. He says he told French troops that their task has come to an end when Mr. Hollande stressed during a news conference with Afghan President Karzai that France will keep military trainers in the country after combat forces leave by the end of the year. Now that is two years before NATO is due to complete withdrawal of its forces.
Now the captain and second officer of a container ship that ran aground last year off New Zealand have been jailed for seven months. The country's maritime commissions says they deviated from the ship's planned route to save time. The incident was New Zealand's worst ever environmental disaster.
Now it was a disappearance that changed the way American parents nurtured their children. And 33 years to the day after six year old Etan Patz went missing in Manhattan a man is expected in court on Friday in connection with his death.
Now the Patz case gained prominence through some of the earliest appeals on milk cartons. And it took on special significance when U.S. President Ronald Reagan made May 25 as National Missing Children's day.
And now, Pedro Hernandez, a former stock clerk from Etan's neighborhood, was arrested by New York police. Now commissioner Ray Kelly gave details of his confession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Hernandez described to the detectives how he lured young Etan from the school bus stop at West Broadway and Prince street with the promise of a soda. He then led him into the basement of the bodega, choked him there, and disposed of the body by putting it into a plastic bag and placing it into the trash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now Hernandez is expected to be charged with second degree murder. And the ensuing trial, if it happens, could be the closing chapter to a case that has gripped America for more than three decades.
Isha Sesay has the bankground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. And this was going to be his last opportunities. And they finally relented and said he could go.
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But Etan Patz's first walk to the bus stop was the last time his parents saw him. It was hours before anyone knew he was missing. Precious hours were lost before the search began. That search would be like none other.
ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: I think it ended an era of innocence in this country. Parents around the nation saw how it happened and thought there but for the grace of God go I or my child. It really awakened America.
SESAY: The search for Etan became an obsession in New York and a national crusade. Despite widespread attention he was never found.
But Patz's disappearance had a major impact across the country. Terrified parents kept children at home, refusing to let them out of their sight while police took a new look at how they handled reports of missing children. One new technique, splashing Etan's image on the side of milk cartons across the country.
The search in April and this new lead, offering hope to Patz's parents and New York that justice might finally be served for Etan Patz.
SEAN SWEENEY, SOHO COUNCIL AND NEIGHBOR: I hope something does happen. I hope they find some to give the family closure, because they fought tooth and nail for this investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Isha Sesay reporting there.
Now there is a battle in the seas off the horn of Africa where Somali pirates pose a threat to a major shipping line. Now hijackings are on the rise, but so are the efforts to stop them.
Zain Verjee explains there's a private company that wants to join the fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATION CORREPSONDENT: The hope is that this can ward off pirates. It may seem laughable, but manikins posing in the dead of night could fool pirates and force them to flee.
There are other tactics as one NATO commander tells me.
LARRY TRIM, NATO COMMANDER: Barbed-wire perhaps around their ship, they have extra lookouts posted to look for Somali pirates, they have a routine where they can fire flares, water hoses, et cetera.
VERJEE: The Gulf of Adan is a really important shipping route between Yemen and Somalia. Now the big fear has been pirate attacks, which are actually increasing again. Now there is a corridor in the middle known as the internationally recommended transit corridor, that's where military ships escort vessels in a group for safe passage. While group transit happen, other areas tend to become exposed. And what experts are saying is that there are usually something like five to 10 military ships in this area at any one given time and what you really need is over 50 to do the job properly.
Now a private company wants to change all of this.
ANGUS CAMPBELL, CEO, CONVOY ESCORT PROGRAMME: There are scarce naval resources. They are too widely spread. We feel that we can contribute to that and increase the protection for ships using this area.
VERJEE: I've been in the region looking at pirate tactics.
Pirates will get close in the dead of the night to a merchant ship like this one. They approach it. They look for one that moves slowly and is kind of low. They throw a rope with a hook or a ladder to climb up onto it.
Some of their skiffs have powerful engines, weapons, GPS navigators, extra fuel. The new private convoy escort program will supplement the international maritime operation which has foiled many hijackings. It will have guns on board to protect vessels.
And in case they do shoot, there's a clear command structure, a team that has trained together, knows the equipment. But critics say more guns means less control and a chance of more deaths. According to a recent piracy report, hijacks for ransom cost the world about $7 billion a year.
Piracy is big bucks, a threat to the world supply chain, insurance, consumers, but more of all the hostages, hundreds still in captivity.
Zain Verjee, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now there is a widening gulf in Japan between the government and the governed. And it stems directly from last year's earthquake and tsunami and the way the Japanese government has handled the nuclear crisis. Now many feel that they have been lied to about the extent of the damage. And public confidence has been severely shaken. It comes amid fresh warnings that contaminated concrete from Fukushima has made its way across the country and could be in some 1,000 locations.
Now Kyung Lah joins me now live from Tokyo. And Kyung, more radiation than previously thought was released after last year's nuclear disaster. Why are we finding this out only now?
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's a million dollar question, Kristie. And what you're referring to is the TEPCO report. It's a report now 15 months after the disaster. And what TEPCO is saying is that this is two-and-a-half times the initial estimate.
So what TEPCO is saying is that it took time for them to accurately judge the amount of radiation released, because of the accident both sensors were disabled. But take a look at how this must feel to people who are either in the affected areas, or just somewhere if you live in Japan. It's a part of a pattern both on the part of TEPCO and the government, that it is slow, it is behind what international experts are saying, and it's also withholding info. It is creating a huge gulf and a rage on the streets of Tokyo. And a reluctance of the people who we are seeing now protesting anywhere that the government wants to burn rubble from the Fukushima region. There is this bad taste in people's mouths, because they don't feel that the government is moving quickly enough to give them accurate information, Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Kyung Lah reporting there. People there in Japan, they are concerned, they are angry, and with very good reason. Kyung, thank you very much indeed for that report.
You're watching News Stream, and still ahead a private rendezvous at the International Space Station as Space X Dragon capsule is to be the first commercial spacecraft to dock at the ISS. And we'll bring you all the latest in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now right now a Dragon is approaching the International Space Station. Of course, I'm talking about the Space X Dragon capsule, the first private spacecraft to rendezvous with the ISS. Now this picture of it, it was tweeted by flight engineer Andre Kuipers just a few hours ago. And he and astronaut Don Pettit are said to grapple the supply ship. And this on your screen is a live look at the process from the control room. And the process is running a little bit behind schedule, but as you can imagine it is a delicate and a deliberate dance.
And when Dragon gets within 10 meters of the station, a robotic arm will reach out to slowly pull Dragon in.
Now the Space X mission is essentially an audition for NASA. And earlier, Dragon demonstrated its ability to maneuver near the International Space Station.
Now John Zarrella joins us now from CNN Miami. And John, how is this attempted link up going so far?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, you know, Kristie as one of my chief engineer just put it this Dragon hook-up is dragging on is the way he put it to me. And it really is. But you're right, you mentioned it's very methodical. They're taking their time. They want to make sure they get this absolutely right. And they've had another moment now where they've stalled in the process.
They were on their way to within 30 meters of the International Space Station. They had commanded Dragon to go ahead and move to within 30 meters. And then suddenly they said let's stop. What happened was that one of the sophisticated radar systems called LIDAR on board the Dragon which measures the distance between the station and the Dragon and they send commands back and forth.
That radar system was picking up on another part of the space station. So it was bouncing off from a place that it's not supposed to bounce back from. They saw that. And they said, OK, wait a minute, let's take a look, let's stop, let's see if we can resolve this issue and then we'll move forward. So right now, once again, they're sitting back at about 70 meters from the International Space Station. And they're holding until they can figure out where they go from here.
But remember, this is a test flight. These two vehicles are traveling at 17,500 miles and hour. People don't realize that it doesn't look it on television, but you've got a spacecraft and you've got the station traveling incredibly fast. And at some point, an astronaut is going to reach out with this Canadian built robotic arm and grab on to that spacecraft and then pull it in.
And this is the future, Kristie, of low Earth orbit. NASA turning over to commercial companies the job of sending cargo and eventually astronauts to the International Space Station so the U.S. space agency can concentrate on sending humans to Mars and to an asteroid. There simply wasn't enough money for NASA to do both.
So this is where we are now. This is the first step. This is the first company out there, there are several others as well, but this is the first one attempting to make history to become the first company to actually have a space vehicle rendezvous, berth with the International Space Station and drop off supplies -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: That's right. When this happens, it will be a historic event.
As you mentioned, this is a test flight. This is an audition for NASA, which is watching this very, very closely. How has Dragon performed so far in terms of guidance, control, and communications?
ZARRELLA: Performed great. I mean, they have had barely any hiccups at all up until this point. This is the first hiccup. And that's what it is right now. We do not know if this is a show stopper, if it's something they can work through and resolved, but up until this point -- they did the fly around yesterday at the International Space Station. That went great. No problems at all. The liftoff on the Falcon 9 rocket. You can see on that image there the solar panels on Dragon, those all deployed -- they both deployed perfectly.
So everything has gone very, very smoothly, right down to script. And you mentioned, you know, NASA watching this carefully. Not just watching it, absolutely involved as a partner. You know, NASA has got the astronauts, our U.S. astronauts, Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station. So NASA is very involved in this process as they move forward and they approach the International Space Station.
So it's not just going to be Space X making a decision go, no go to do this maneuver to berth. NASA is going to be equally involved.
LU STOUT: All right. John Zarrella reporting, thank you very much indeed for giving us the very latest on this, what could be a very historic mission if and when it happens. It should be happening pretty soon.
I know Mari Ramos is watching this all very closely for us. And so -- I mean, it seems that the link up between the Dragon capsule, the space station a little bit behind schedule, but other than that, the Dragon capsule has been a star performer so far.
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it really has Kristie. I think one of the key words and one of the key phrases that the people at NASA and at Space X have been saying is that this is a test flight. And that they have to make sure everything is absolutely working as it should be before they attempt to have that capsule actually grapple there with the International Space Station.
One of the things that they really want to make sure that they're able to do is if they need to abort the mission as the -- it's only 30 meters away as John mentioned, but if they need to abort the mission, that they are able to do so. They have to make sure that the Dragon is able to do reverse maneuvers and get away from the International Space Station should they need to do that. So that's one of the things that they were testing out just in the last -- the last few -- maybe the last 30 minutes or so.
Well, of course, we'll be monitoring it closely. And like you said, it will, when it happen, it will be quite historic. I can't wait to see it.
Let's go ahead and move on. I want to talk to you a little bit about the weather here. Let's go ahead and start off the coast of Mexico. We do have a hurricane warning in place for portions of the Mexican coastline. You see it here highlighted in red. The reason is Hurricane Bud.
Now Hurricane Bud doesn't sound like a very threatening name, right, but it's kind of giving us a little trouble with the forecasting here. It didn't make it to a category 3 over night. A category 3 hurricane in the overnight hours. It has been since started to weaken somewhat, but you can see it moving directly toward the Mexican coastline here just south of Puerta Vallarta.
Now this is a densely populated area. There's a lot of resorts here as well. There's mountains. There's beaches. And we could see some problems with flooding and mudslides as the storm gets closer. Of course the danger also of beach erosion is quite there.
And I want to show you the forecast over here. When you see it, you're going, well what is that, I don't understand? Well, what happens is the storm begins to move inland and then we see it kind of stalling over the same general area. You know what this means, right? The potential for flooding.
Now there's still a margin of error here where the storm could actually stay just offshore and maybe not bring as heavy rain, or move onshore and then weaken quickly. If that happens, that might be the best possible scenario. But if it just sits here and hovers around the same general area between now, Saturday, and possibly even into Sunday we have the potential for torrential rainfall and also for mudslides. So that I think, Kristie, is going to be the biggest concern when it comes to this tropical cyclone.
Now the forecast models right now are saying, yeah, the storm does move inland and it begins to dissipate. That's the most likely scenario, kind of sitting here over the same general area. 8 to 15 centimeters of rainfall not out of the question when it comes to the storm. So we'll be monitoring it closely, let you know what happens with Hurricane Bud.
I've got tell you, I like that name.
Back to you.
LU STOUT: Yeah, you know, short, simple straightforward. Bud. Mari Ramos, thank you. Have a good weekend.
Well, up next, we've all been there, trying to get the ketchup out of a bottle, no easy feat. So check this out, that ketchup it's just gliding out of that bottle. And we'll tell you about the smart students who made that happen. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now when Facebook bought the photo sharing app Instagram last month many expected to use the popular app to improve Facebook's own mobile products. And on Thursday Facebook did indeed unveil a new photo app for iPhone Facebook Camera allows you to take pictures, apply filters, and share those photos easily. Now sound familiar? Now you can use the exact same words to describe Instagram.
So let's compare the apps. Now on the left is a picture of a small Mark Zuckerberg figurine. In the middle is the same photo in Instagram. And on the right is the photo in Facebook Camera. And you can see that the two have a fairly similar interface.
Now Instagram, it offers more filters and more control over tweaking the photo itself, but Facebook it links straight to Facebook, the social network with 900 million users, meaning that you can also browse and comment on all your friends photos, not just the ones that have Instagram.
So given that Facebook just spent $1 billion on Instagram, why launch a separate camera app? Well, a Facebook spokesman told Tech Crunch this, quote, "we are committed to building and growing Instagram independently so I anticipate some healthy competition." So apparently they think that both apps can exist together.
Now one of the world's most glamorous sporting events takes place this weekend. And the very stylish Alex Thomas is in London with more on the Monaco Grand Prix -- Alex.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORREPSONDENT: Nowhere near as stylish as you, Kristie.
F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has exclusively told CNN that all the sports teams have settled on terms for a new deal lasting until 2020. The current so-called concord agreement ends at the end of this season. And there have been reports of discontent and a possible breakaway by some constructors, however, speaking to our own Amanda Davies, Ecclestone said everyone will sign another contract.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNIE ECCLESTONE, CEO, F1: Well, we just got people now to all current teams to sign up to 2020. And then hope another 10 years after that. And then forever.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: So is that you saying that the concord agreement has been signed. Everybody has agreed?
ECCLESTONE: Everybody has agreed to it.
DAVIES: Including Mercedes?
ECCLESTONE: You'll have to wait to see if Mercedes. I'm confident that everything with Mercedes will be fine.
DAVIES: Why was it that you were offering Red Bull, Ferrari, McClaren a seat on the board and not Mercedes?
ECCLESTONE: It's a little embarrassing really to answer that, but the whole financial system is based on results and history.
DAVIES: But Mercedes does have a lot of history in Formula One, back to the Silver Arrows and the Sangio and...
ECCLESTONE: We didn't go back to the 50s, which if had have done we (inaudible) have to include Ferrari.
No -- I appreciate Mercedes and support Mercedes probably more than anyone. They do a fantastic job with Formula 1. And can't say we wouldn't have been where we are if they hadn't have been there. But probably would have been. They've done a good, good, good job. And we're appreciative.
But the way the whole thing was constructed was on results. And we couldn't falsify the results, because we did other people would complain.
DAVIES: There has been suggestions that Mercedes were threatening to pull out of the sport. Have those concerns gone away as far as you are concerned?
ECCLESTONE: Absolutely.
DAVIES: A lot has been made as well about this week about finances of Formula One. CBC have sold a percentage of their shares. What was your reaction to that?
ECCLESTONE: CBC (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIES: Your employers.
ECCLESTONE: Have done what?
DAVIES: Have sold 20 percent of their shares.
ECCLESTONE: Oh yeah, really?
DAVIES: Did you not know?
ECCLESTONE: Nothing to do with me people sold their shares.
DAVIES: But in terms of what's coming up in the flotation on the stock exchange, that could have a bearing on your future in Formula One.
ECCLESTONE: My personal future -- we have to see what's going to happen with -- it hasn't been announced about the (inaudible) at the moment.
DAVIES: But is your understanding that it will...
ECCLESTONE: I mean, all that was ever been said, I think, Mr. McKenzie (ph) said this will probably depend an awful lot on what the market is at the time. And the market doesn't look too bright after that little bit of a problem with Facebook. So I think that can wait and see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS: F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, hard to pin down at the best of times. But Amanda certain did her best, did a very good job.
Full reaction and a full preview ahead of that Monaco Grand Prix on world sport in just over three hours time.
You were mentioning the glamor of the Monaco Grand Prix earlier, Kristie. And I hope you noticed that as someone who carries off a mean dress herself, Amanda has done a pretty good job with that blue number.
LU STOUT: Yes. She is. She is a very stylish woman. And a great interview there. Looking forward to watching the rest of it.
Alex Thomas, thank you.
Now the war with this, the ketchup bottle may have been won. Now if you've ever stood there and slapped, smacked, even shaken the bottle either in vain or just to have it explode all over your plate well a bunch of MIT students have come to your rescue. Jeanne Moos explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Who among us hasn't been guilty of assault on a ketchup bottle. But has technology caught up with ketchup?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that thing slide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god.
MOOS: Our long national nightmare is over.
Mechanical engineering students at MIT have come up with a super slippery coating that makes anything from ketchup to mayonnaise practically leap out of a bottle coated with the stuff. They call it LiquiGlide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It works on everything we've tried so far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, glass, plastic, different types of plastic, metal.
MOOS: Even Tony Soprano would be beholden to these students. Look how annoyed Tony gets at the dreaded ketchup clog.
Sure there are techniques ranging from the Goodfellas bottle roll to the Heinz 57 trick.
UNIDNETIFIED MALE: Tilt the bottle at a 45 degree angle.
MOOS: And gently slap it on the sweet spot where the 57 is imprinted near the next.
But LiquiGlide could make all those tactics obsolete. The idea is to apply the coating during bottle manufacture. Student David Smith says it's totally non-toxic.
DAVID SMITH, MIT STUDENT: This is stuff that people already eat in some foods. It's perfectly safe.
MOOS: They've already applied for a bunch of patents.
What are the secret ingredients?
SMITH: Well...
MOOS: Well, they wouldn't be secret if they LiquiGlide it out of their mouths.
Dr. Crepa Verinassi (ph) and his students are already talking to bottlers and food companies. We asked the folks and Heinz if they were in contact with the LiquiGlide inventors. All they say was.
"We love the idea of making it easier to pour out Heinz ketchup."
Despite rave reviews.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's amazing.
MOOS: There are traditionalists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel the ketchup would have the same satisfaction to it if it just poured out that quickly.
MOOS: Yeah, well guess what the young inventors at MIT are anticipating?
I mean, do you think this is going to turn you guys into like millionaires?
SMITH: I think so.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS: They already have a slogan. LiquiGlide, let it slide. No more banging with shoes, or mallets, or sucking up ketchup. For traditional bottles, LiquiGlide could mean their last gasp.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Sorry, when it comes to ketchup, I am a traditionalist.
And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.
END
