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Aung San Suu Kyi to the World: Healthy Skepticism about Myanmar Is Good; Sunni Residents in Houla Desperate for Their Stories to Be Told; New Estimates Put World Slavery Population at 21 Millio

Aired June 01, 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: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Welcome to NEWS STREAM where news and technology meet. And we begin in Syria. We hear from the people of Houla, the town where over 100 were killed exactly one week ago.

Now Aung San Suu Kyi speaks out on her first trip outside Myanmar in over 24 years.

And we'll tell you why Japan's cabinet is dressed like this.

Now the United Nations human rights council is holding an emergency session in Geneva on the crisis in Syria. The UN human rights chief warns that if something is not done soon, Syria and the entire region could be in grave danger.

Now the UN wants answers to who is responsible for last Friday's massacre in the Syrian town of Houla. At least 108 people were killed, nearly half of them children.

Now merchants in Syria plan a strike today, calling for a stop to the slaughter. And the Syrian government is pointing the finger at, quote, armed terrorist groups for the Houla massacre. Now that's a statement that the U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice calls a blatant lie.

I want to remind you the death toll since the conflict in Syria began. It's at the bottom of your screen. And that number, it comes from opposition groups. Now CNN is unable to confirm the exact numbers because of severe restrictions on reporting in the country.

Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Western Europe where he is meeting with fellow world leaders. And Syria is expected to top the agenda.

Now Mr. Putin is on his first foreign tour since he was sworn in to a third term as president last month. His first stop is Berlin where he was greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And later on Friday he'll head to Paris to meet with his French counterpart Francois Hollande.

Now Russia's resistance to international sanctions on Syria likely will be tested. So let's bring in our world affairs correspondent and former Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty. Now Jill, what kind of pressure will Vladimir Putin face over Syria today?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think you can expect, Kristie, that there's going to be a lot of very direct personal lobbying. After all, this has been going on from all of the capitals you'd have to say in Europe from the United States trying to push Russia into some type of position to support some type of action at the United Nations.

So far it's not really yielding any fruit. And so now they have a chance, the leaders of France and Germany, to directly talk to him. And the hope is that they might be able to sway Mr. Putin in some fashion to support concerted action at the United Nations.

So far that is really just getting everybody on board perhaps with stronger sanctions. Nobody at this point is really talking about military action, that's very far away, but at this point they don't even have Russia, and China you could add, supporting some of the measures at the United Nations.

And I think also, Kristie, the idea -- at least from -- you'd have to say from Washington and from other capitals is to directly talk to Mr. Putin to accept the fact that there has to be a political transition in Syria. And that is one of the key things. The Russians continue to say they abhor the violence, too, they want it to stop, but the plan of having a political transition is the thing that is really crucial. And the Russians might hold the key to convincing Assad to accepting that. It's a very big if.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Russia holds the key. Russia as a strong ally of Damascus has a lot of leverage. And yet Russia continues to express support for Syria. Why is it? I mean, does Russia have geopolitical interests or business interests in Syria?

DOUGHERTY: You know, Kristie, it has both. It has geopolitical interests. It has -- there's a port still in operation that the Russians use. And in fact just yesterday and the day before there was a Russian flagged ship that docked there and the belief, or let's say the criticism is that it might have been holding arms, carrying arms to the Syrian government. That's not proven. The United States is looking into it right now, but there's one indication of the Russians not changing their position.

Then they also have economic interests: they sell weapons to Syria. And then also on a broader kind of almost philosophical basis, the Russians do not want any type of regime change in Syria that goes against -- that is forced. The Russians were burned on Libya, they feel, when Gadhafi was removed from power. And they don't want it to happen here. It's a very visceral response on the part of the Russians.

LU STOUT: All right. Jill Dougherty with that. Thank you very much indeed, Jill.

And for the residents of Houla, the reality now is trying to live with the aftermath of last Friday's massacre.

Now Alex Thomson, chief correspondent for Britain's Channel 4 news is in Houla going house to house. And he reports the attack survivors are desperate to tell the world what happens.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX THOMSON, CHANNEL 4 NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of people have fled Houla to escape the fighting and the massacre. And most of those seem to believe the killers will come here again, leaving some areas quite deserted.

But move away from the front line and there are people and they will find you and fast.

Chanting "god is great," allahu akbar, "death to Assad," or simply "freedom."

CROWD: Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!

THOMSON: You have barely time to pause they tug, they beg you to enter their homes, relay their of last Friday when over 100 people were massacred here, most of them women and children.

Unis (ph) is 25. He's been shot twice. They say it happened as he was attempting to save an 11-year-old boy from the militias killers.

He was helping an injured boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

THOMSON: The little boy died, but Unis (ph) somehow got out alive.

We're being led now house to house by people. And everywhere we go we're seeing a new type of injury: bullet wounds, shrapnel wounds. I don't know what we'll see in the next house, but people are clearly desperate to have their stories shown outside of these villages.

Abdel Mahdi (ph) is 87 and slow these days on his feet. So it was that he was caught out on the streets. And yet he told us he feels lucky merely to have been shot in the foot rather than knifed to death like so many others were here.

Outside Abdullah (ph) distraught, his daughter and so many others from his family missing since the massacre.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's 14 years old.

THOMSON: 14 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She's still in school.

THOMSON: So he wanders around endlessly calling up their images on his phone, a lonely vigil of grief.

This is on Friday, spilled on Friday?

And then people bearing a different kind of witness. Another house where they've been uploaded images to YouTube of what happened and its aftermath for so long until now the only way that Houla could speak to the wider world.

Much of this material can't be broadcast. Image after image of children, faces shot away, throats slashed with knives.

The Syrian Red Cross have, of course, been delivering food and medicines as well as treating the sick and injured. They say more than 5,000 people displaced from Houla by the fighting. Many of those still too terrified to be identified openly like this eight-year-old boy injured during the heavy shelling which preceded the massacre.

Syria is in the grip of a bitter sectarian conflict. The Sunni majority accusing the government of using militias from the Alawite and Shia communities. So Houla finds itself a Sunni town encircled by Shia and Alawite villages.

There's no independent group, but everybody here says the killers came from those Shia villages around Houla. And some speak openly of revenge.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: Shia and Alawites -- Shia and Alawites want to kill all Sunni people. Shia and Alawites, I promise you when the regime will fall we want to kill them.

THOMSON: You want to kill them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. No.

THOMSON: No. No more killing. No more killing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. They kill us every day.

THOMSON: No more killing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

THOMSON: You want to kill them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I hurt them. And we all -- of all Houla people hurt them.

THOMSON: It's not everyone's way, of course. 15-year-old Aya (ph) lies with gunshot wounds, such is their need, though, to let the world know that norms of decency and modesty for women are simply abandoned. They beg us to film.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were sitting in the room with my uncle's family. There was lots of shooting outside our house. We stayed in the room. They knocked on the door. My dad and uncle opened the door and they told them to come outside. They hit them. They killed them.

THOMSON: This was a remarkably quiet day in Houla, not a single shot or shell whilst we were there. The UN had told us the Syrian government was under intense international pressure to let this convoy in after Kofi Annan's talks with President Assad.

But everyone here, UN included, believe more bodies have yet to be found and recovered. The UN hired a pick-up truck to collect them.

This corroborates exactly what people on the roof nearby were telling us when we were there, that there are a number of bodies which still have to be recovered, but they're too near to the Syrian government army checkpoint to do so safely. In other words, the total which the United Nations have given thus far is certain to increase for the massacre that happened on Friday. Close by, the mass grave where now over 100 bodies lie.

But look at this, they've extended one of the deep trenches so certain are they that more bodies of friends and family will be bound to be brought here.

As soon as our convoy left the town, the Syrian army began shelling all over again.

Alex Thomson, Channel 4 News, Houla.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Anger and fear in Houla after a massacre.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. And coming up next, accused of corruption and ordering the death of hundreds: a verdict is expected this weekend in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Released from slavery, CNN Freedom Project report from Argentina.

And taking her place in the international spotlight, Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the World Economic Forum in Thailand. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now the dividing lines are being drawn in Egypt as the country heads toward a run-off vote for president later this month. Now supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the liberal April 6 movement have called for a million man march in Tahrir Square this Friday. They are protesting against one of the presidential candidates Ahmed Shafik who was a prime minister in the Mubarak regime that was ousted last year.

Now the face of Egypt's old regime is of course former President Hosni Mubarak. And after three decades of rule he was toppled in the wave of regional political change that became known as the Arab Spring. Now Ben Wedeman reports a verdict in Mubarak's trial is expected on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: His appearance in court was a spectacle few Egyptians thought they would ever see. Within the space of six months, Mohammed Hosni Mubarak went from the pinnacle of power to the depths of humiliation in the defendants cage. His humiliation broadcast live for the nation, indeed the world to see. He was charged with corruption, misappropriation of funds and most seriously issuing the orders in January of last year to kill demonstrators calling for the downfall of his regime.

While the sometimes chaotic trial proceeded, outside the heavily guarded courtroom opponents, including relatives of those killed during the revolution, clashed with Mubarak loyalists outside.

Saturday, the verdict in the trial of Mubarak is scheduled to be announced.

31-year-old school teacher Hossein Goma Hossein (ph) was killed at 2:00 pm on January 28, 2011 shot through the chest demonstrating against Mubarak. His brother Mohammed hopes for the harshest of verdicts.

"Execution," he says, "that is the verdict that will satisfy the families of the dead and injured, that is the only verdict we'll accept."

Magdi Fouda leads a group of Mubarak supporters and is hoping the court finds him innocent. Magdi says he was able to collect 750,000 signatures on a petition calling for Mubarak's pardon.

Others have set up a Facebook page called Sorry Mr. President which boasts more than 240,000 likes.

The ousted leader should be honored, not humiliated for his decades of work for Egypt, says Magdi.

"We believe President Mubarak has been terribly mistreated recently," he tells me. "We will stand faithfully by him to honor him for his 62 years of service to Egypt."

KHALID ABU BAKR, LAWYER: Let me tell you a message, clear, from the victims: nobody out of the law in Egypt now.

WEDEMAN: Lawyer Khalid Abu Bakr attended every session of the trial representing some of the families of those killed during the revolution.

During the trial, did you see Hosni Mubarak look like he regretted...

BAKR: Never. I would imagine that he said in front of all the people, yes, I did a mistake. But never -- even his face.

WEDEMAN: During the trial, Mubarak maintained a certain regal disdain for the proceedings, spending much of his time on a mobile bed, his hair still very black for a man well into his 80s. Mr. President not ready to say sorry to anyone.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now the number of people forced to work against their will may be even higher than many had thought. And the overall number might shock you. That's ahead right here on NEWS STREAM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong you're back watching NEWS STREAM. And according to the International Labor Organization the number of people forced into jobs they cannot leave is nearly 21 million. Now more than a quarter of the victims are under the age of 18. And they come from all over the world, including from developed countries. But the highest number is actually in this region, the Asia-Pacific, it accounts for 56 percent of the global total of forced laborers, or some 11.7 million people. Now the next highest number can be found in Africa at 18 percent, or 3.7 million people. Now Latin America it accounts for the third largest share at 9 percent. There are 1.8 million forced labor victims there.

And there have been small victories in the fight against forced labor. Now police in Argentina recently freed nearly 80 Bolivians in a Buenos Aires sweat shop who were working what police say were sub-human conditions.

Our senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sweat shops were discovered behind these brick walls. There were no signs showing what was happening inside and neighbors had no idea either.

CLAUDIO NOGUIERAS, BUENOS AIRES RESIDENT (through translator): In this neighborhood there aren't normally any clandestine workshops. But oh well it's just another surprise.

ROMO: According to the Argentine federal police, the victims were 76 migrants from Bolivia who were forced to sew clothes around the clock. Police raided 12 sweat shops and arrested 23 Argentine and Bolivian nationals.

ELBA GARCIA, BUENOS AIRES RESIDENT (through translator): It happened and it's very regrettable. Everything happens in the dark in this neighborhood. We need more police presence.

ROMO: Police officials said people were forced to work in sub-human conditions. They were recruited in Bolivia, told lies and transported to Buenos Aires where they lived without documentation.

Bolivia, a South American country where more than half of the population lives in poverty is located just north of Argentina. According to a human right activist, unskilled indigenous Bolivians who live in extreme poverty are vulnerable to human trafficking rings.

Gustavo Vera is the director of a non-profit group that helps victims of forced labor in Buenos Airies. Vera says there are more than 3,000 sweat shops operating in the Argentine capital alone. He estimates 25,000 people work under conditions of slavery. Raids alone, Vera says, will not solve the problem.

GUSTAVO VERA, LA ALAMEDA: They are very vulnerable people. And in just a few days they have to go back to work at some other clandestine sweat shop because they're undocumented in this country, or because they're unfamiliar with Buenos Aires. Many go right back into the cycle of exploitation from which they came.

ROMO: Vera's organization is trying to give exploited workers an alternative. At this workshop, workers make $4 an hour producing slavery free clothes. Daisy Cahuapaza says she was strapped in a sweat shop for years, now she's free but she says the practice of human trafficking still continues.

DAISY CAHUAPAZA, SEAMSTRESS (through translator): They're still bringing people not only to Argentina, but also Brazil. There are many people being taken there, including minors.

ROMO: The rules at this workshop are simple: there is no boss, and all decisions are voted on by the workers, a far cry from the world of forced slavery they left behind.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now for more than a year now the CNN Freedom Project has been looking into the issue of slavery. And until now we've put the number of victims at between 10 and 30 million and that is a wide range. It was based on numbers from 2005 when the International Labor Organization said that there were just over 12 million people trapped in forced labor. So this new estimate of 21 million immediately caught our attention.

Now Beate Andrees is the head of the ILO's program to combat forced labor. She joins us now live from Geneva. And Beate, thank you for joining us. And first explain this, we now know 21 million people are trapped in forced labor, but who are the victims?

BEATE ANDREES, ILO SPECIAL PROGRAMMA TO COMBAT FORCED LABOUR: Yes, indeed. Nearly 21 million in forced labor or what some call modern forms of slavery. And it really affects all groups of the population: old and young, men and women, usually very vulnerable groups migrant workers but also indigenous people, domestic workers, really a wide range of victims we have identified through this global estimate.

LU STOUT: Now in 2005 your group said there were about 12.3 million people trapped in forced labor. Now there are over 20 million. How do you explain that jump in the number of victims?

ANDREES: Well, indeed we've always said that our figure from 2005 was a conservative figure, it was a minimum estimate because we didn't know much about the situation on the ground. We didn't have national surveys. And this has changed.

We now have based our estimates for the first time ever on national surveys, a very limited number though. And in addition we have refined our methodology. So we cannot really compare the two estimates, we cannot measure trends as yet, but we do believe that the new number is really a more accurate reflection of the reality and we have obviously improve the situation in those countries. And literally all the countries are affected.

LU STOUT: Yeah, but to hear the statistic, 21 million people affected, it's so extreme. What is your message to groups who are fighting forced labor and human trafficking. Their task now is so daunting, do they need to rethink their approach?

ANDREES: Yes, indeed. The figure is an urgent call for action. In 2005 I think we were very optimistic that forced labor could be eradicated in a number of years, but looking at the new figures we have to see and develop better strategies. From a high level point of view we will look into this now very carefully to develop more better and more prevention measures, but also to strengthen prosecution, because what we really find problematic is the fact that most offenders are still not prosecuted, so there's a huge mismatch between the number of identified victims and the number we estimate.

LU STOUT: And for modern-day abolitionists, NGOs, and also journalists looking into the issue which industries do we need to investigate a little bit more, which industries out there making use of forced labor?

ANDREES: The industries most frequently cited in our report are construction, agriculture, manufacturing -- varied types of manufacturing industries, as well as domestic work. But we do need to look more carefully look into this to also look into global supply chains and how forced labor penetrates global supply chains as well as of course various economic activities in the informal economy, including begging and the wide range of illicit activities.

LU STOUT: All right. Beate Andrees, thank you very much indeed for sharing your latest findings with us. Live from Geneva with the International Labor Organization.

Now still to come here on NEWS STREAM, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on her first trip abroad in more than two decades. And she's speaking out about her hopes for Myanmar.

Plus, the long and the short of what Japan is doing to beat the summer heat and to cut down on energy consumption.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, the diplomatic struggle over Syria: Russia's resistance to international sanctions, it's going to be tested today. Vladimir Putin is in Berlin meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who is speaking now. Let's listen in.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLO (through translator): We have great relationships with change developing of several relationship, there's a great development in this, the development of democratic (inaudible) in Russia and on this (inaudible) we can build economical relationships. We have trade and exchange in -- we have greater economical relationship...

LU STOUT: OK. Our apologies for that inadequate translation there, but we are monitoring this press conference taking place in Berlin. Angela Merkel meeting with her Russian counterpart of Vladimir Putin. And once they mention Syria and the issue we're going to capture that, bring it to you right here on CNN so you can get the very latest on the diplomatic struggle over the future of Syria.

Now in just over a little more than two hours -- in two years, rather, Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, she has gone from living under house arrest to a highly visible place on the world stage. And the Nobel Laureate, she addressed the World Economic Forum in Bangkok on Friday. And this is her first foreign trip in 24 years.

And she spoke candidly about political reform in Myanmar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUNG SANN SUU KYI, OPPOSITION LEADER IN MYANMAR: I think optimism is good, but cautious optimism. These days I'm coming across a lot of what I would call reckless optimism. That is not going to help you, it's not going to help us. So we need a balanced report, a little bit of healthy skepticism I think is in order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now after so many years isolated in Myanmar, Suu Kyi has been given a rapturous welcome in neighboring Thailand. And joining me now live from the World Economic Forum in Bangkok is my colleague Andrew Stevens. He moderated a session with Aung San Suu Kyi earlier today.

And Andrew, at the even Suu Kyi, she cautioned against reckless optimism. What was she referring to?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think she was referring to the fact that a lot of people are seeing the democratic change occurring in Myanmar and are just getting too far ahead of the process, Kristie. It's almost wishful thinking. They see that there has been an election and that Suu Kyi is now a member of parliament and that is a green light to start moving into the country. I mean, she herself said at that speech that we are in the very, very early stages of transition. And one key factor she points out is there is still no true rule of law there which she says just under pins any legitimate democracy. And we just have not seen that yet in Myanmar.

It's interesting when she made that comment about healthy skepticism she got a huge shout of approval from that, because there has been sort of suggestions about a modern-day gold rush if you like going. Company, people going into Myanmar that -- the infrastructure, the soft infrastructure there like the rule of law is just not there yet.

She said she wants people to come in, but she is asking for job creation. She kept on coming back to the central theme about we have to create jobs. And to create jobs we have to have an educated workforce. And by educated workforce she's not talking about university degrees, she made that very clear, not tertiary education, it's secondary school education, that is the level that Myanmar is at the moment, it's that level of basic need that still has to occur before this nascent democracy moves into its next stage of this economic development.

LU STOUT: And also, Andrew, Suu Kyi, she gave a couple of personal anecdotes, didn't she?

STEVENS: Yes, she did. She delighted the crowd here. I would say that she received, as you pointed out, a rapturous welcome. And people I spoke to later said they've been coming to these World Economic Forums for many, many years now. You get government leaders there, you get business leaders there talking. They're a fairly seasoned crowd and she absolutely mesmerized them. Not a person I spoke to was not completely bowled over by just the simplicity of her message.

And she -- it was in two parts. She stood at the lectern and told the delegates what her hopes were and what was needed. But in a question and answer session with the founder of the WF, she was a little bit more candid about some of her personal experiences. And he asked her -- and it's a question that people have been asking her, what sustained her, what actually underpinned her during those long, long years of house arrest. And this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUU KYI: My mother, who taught me to be disciplined and to put duty about everything else. She did this not just by teaching me how important duty was, but by acting our her belief in the primacy of duty.

Because she taught me that duty mattered more than anything else in life, I don't know whether all of you agree with me or not, and of course we can argue about what this meant by duty, it became second nature for me to try to discharge my duty as far as I was capable.

I can't say I've always been good in the sense of I can't say that I've always put duty before everything else, but I have tried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: And another little story she told, she was asked what was she thinking, what was going through -- the thoughts going through her head, Kristie, as she arrived in Bangkok after 24 years of not leaving Myanmar, flying into Bangkok. And she told this lovely story about how she'd been invited into the cockpit of the plane as it was descending into Bangkok and she's just looking out across the city.

She said a few years ago I would have been looking at the cockpit controls, but I was just looking down at the city, the twinkling lights there, and I realized that 20 years ago Bangkok and Myanmar -- Yangon, which is the main business capital, the former capital of the city, were not that far apart. And now, she said I have left a city which is running on candle power because there was yet another power shortage coming across the border to this thriving Bangkok.

And she said my first thought was right we need a new national energy policy, which gives you an idea of just the sort of the focus she has on getting things done now in Myanmar.

LU STOUT: That's right. It gives you a sense of her duty thinking about the future of her country.

Andrew Stevens joining us live with that. Thank you very much indeed.

Now the U.S. Labor Department has just released the highly anticipated jobs report from May and they showed the the economy added 69,000 jobs last month. Now that is less than half the number than analysts expected. We'll have much more on the jobs report in World Business Today, that's coming up in about 20 minutes from now.

Now time now for your world weather check. And a look at a tropical storm near the Philippines. Mari Ramos joins us with that -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORREPSONDENT: Oh yes, this was the storm we were talking about yesterday and actually over the last couple of days. It was getting closer. It looks like it was going to form. And now we have it, it is official, it is a tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Mawar is the international name and Anbo (ph) is the name used in the Philippines. Whatever you want to call it, this storm is causing a lot of rain particularly across the central and northern Philippines.

Manila, you had about 2 inches of rain about what, 52 millimeters of rainfall in the last 24 hours at the airport, expect more throughout the day today. It doesn't take much to cause flooding across some of these areas. And we're going to see persistent rainfall over this region.

Winds right now are gusting to about 80 kilometers per hour, but the stronger winds are actually just offshore here from the eastern portion of Luzon and as we head down to Cataduanes (ph).

Now what's going to happen with this storm, because it's so close it is going to have an influence on the weather across this area here. We are expecting the storm itself to actually remain offshore, though, and continue to trail northward over the next couple of days. It will probably become a typhoon by Sunday. But it should be far away enough that you'll only get the outer bands of the storm. So a direct hit is not expected. Either way, the amount of rain that we're expecting here between 5 to 8 centimeters locally up to 15 it could trigger not only flooding, but also mudslides and of course very rough seas. Ferry traffic will be interrupted and has been already. Be extra careful, because rough sees are also expected there.

Let's go ahead and switch gears and talk about the monsoon. Kristie, this picture taking place a little bit earlier in the week, this is in India where 75 soldiers were taking place in some water exercises, water rescue exercises before the monsoon. They're getting ready because they know that every year with the monsoon there's extreme flooding, people get trapped and they've got to get them out. The monsoon hasn't started though and because it hasn't started temperatures have been terrible, blistering hot across the sub-continent.

Now 49 in a city in Pakistan here. As we head into New Delhi, again 45 for the daytime high. And that's in the shade. That's 3 to 7 degrees above the average.

The monsoon is supposed to start on June 1. And usually that's when we begin to see the rain starting to move through here. So they plus or minus four days. So I guess it's still on time. But the onset of the monsoon is not declared until at least 60 percent of the weather stations in Kerala get 2.5 millimeters of rain for two consecutive days. And even though there has been consecutive days.

So they're saying June 4 should be when we begin to see the monsoon rains. And with that, a relief from the heat. Even without the monsoon a relief from the heat is expected this weekend, at least farther to the north.

Have a good weekend. Back to you.

LU STOUT: All right. You too Mari Ramos. And take care.

Now in Japan, it's normal to see the salary man dressed in a dark, three piece suit, but in a bid to save energy the government introduced the idea of cool biz several years ago. Now that made it acceptable for workers to leave their jackets and ties at home or even roll up their sleeves as so inclined. Offices, then, would not need to crank up the air conditioning.

But now Tokyo is going one step further, kicking off this year's super cool biz campaign. And here you can see the Japanese prime minister and his cabinet dressed in Hawaiian shirts. Now also permissible, polo shirts and t-shirts, but not tank tops. Well, kept jeans are OK, but they can't have designer tears. And workers can also feel free to wear sandals. But the flip-flops are banned.

Now this is actually the second time super cool biz has been promoted. It started last year to avoid power outages after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. And this summer will be an bigger challenge, because all of Japan's nuclear reactors are turned off.

Now up next here on NEWS STREAM, Liverpool finally have a new manager and just ahead Alex Thomas will introduce us to the new man in charge of one of the world's most popular football clubs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

It is Google versus China round two. The search giant is exposing China's censorship regime by warning mainland users when they enter a sensitive word. Now it posted this video showing what its like to use Google from inside mainland China. You search Yangtze River in Chinese and you'll get an error message saying that the web page is not available and the connection was interrupted.

Now Yangtze River is Tang Zian (ph) in Mandarian and Zian (ph) is a sensitive character online in China because it is a last name of former president Zian Zi Ming (ph) himself has been the subject of much online speculation.

But now a new Google search utility will pop up to warn users in China when they're about to have a connection issue. You just hit search and then this is what the warning looks like. And in English it reads, we've observed that searching for this character in mainland China may temporarily break your connection to Google. This interruption is outside of Google's control.

Now Google in China, they have a complicated relationship. Two years ago, Google moved its Chinese search servers to Hong Kong. And mainland net users can still access Google, but must pass through the great firewall to get to it. Now it's unclear how Beijing will react to Google's latest move.

Now two-and-a-half weeks after the end of England's football season Liverpool has finally announced a new manager. Let's join Alex Thomas in London for more -- Alex.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kristie, a world famous club that hasn't gone for a world famous name, however, Brendan Rogers is promising to defend the principles of Liverpool Football Club and has described his new job as an exciting project after being officially unveiled as the new manager.

Despite evidence to the contrary, Liverpool's owners insist the former Swansea City boss was their first choice to replace Kenny Dalglish. Rogers has revealed that he refused to work under a director of football and the club says it has now abandoned plans to create such a position.

Well, the 39-year-old Northern Irishment said he wanted to do more than just qualify for the Champion's League. It's not going to be straightaway, because that's not realistic he said, adding, "winning the title is something we want to achieve. It's not just aiming for fourth place."

Now they're the unfashionable stars of the NBA. And the San Antonio Spurs seemed unstoppable in the playoffs, but a 20 game winning streak has finally been ended. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have avoided going 3-0 down in the Western Conference Finals Thursday night.

Let's pick it up in the first quarter. Durant on the drive. He goes in for the slam over the Spurs Tim Duncan as the Thunder take the lead.

Onto the second with Oklahoma now up by five. Here's Russell Westbrook to James Hardin who hits the three and the Thunder are really rolling at half-time. 13 points clear.

That lead stretches in the third. Durant to Thabo Sefolosha for the three. And Oklahoma continue to pull away from the Spurs.

Hardin now using the screen to set up Westbrook for the huge alley-oop slam. That was spectacular. The Thunder then more than 20 points ahead by this stage in the fourth. Hardin with the buzzer beating shot as Oklahoma gallop away from the Spurs with a 102-82 win. It's San Antonio, though, who still lead the series 2-1.

Now many thought the lightning bolts had fizzled out, but the man who changed the way we think about how fast humans can run looks to be back to his best. Usain Bolt produced a staggering display at the Diamond League Athletics meeting in Rome on Thursday night. Take a look at him steaming ahead of fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and European champion Christoph Lemaitre winning the 100 meters in 9.76 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. We're hoping to hear from the reigning Olympic champion on World Sport in three hours time.

Now, maybe we should start calling him Long John Isner, because the American tennis player is starting to make marathon matches his specialty. All of us will remember his recordbreaking epic at Wimbledon two years ago. And he's been putting the overtime again. This time on clay at the French Open. But even swapping London for Paris didn't prevent the world number 11 from putting in some hard graph.

Isner up against Paul Henri Mathieu. And they played for the best part of six hours before the Frenchmen emerged victorious. So Isner entering the record books again with the fourth longest match ever in a grand slam -- 5 hours, 41 minutes. It's not even close, though, to that historic match he played against Nicholas Mahut in 2010. That day they were on court for three days and more than 11 hours, almost twice as long as Thursday's match. The final set alone at Wimbledon that year lasting 138 games and over eight hours.

And we'll have the latest on today's French Open action in World Sport at 5:00 London time. For now, Kristie, back to you.

LU STOUT: Yeah, that's incredible. What is it about him and long rallies? Marathon Man is right. Alex Thomas there, thank you so much and take care.

Now a ray of hope for people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. Now scientists in Switzerland report that they have successfully used electrical stimulation of the brain to train paralyzed rats to walk again and even run. Now 10 rats all have the nerve connections to their hind legs surgically severed. The scientists stop short of completely severing the spinal cord. They then began stimulating the motor area of the brain and the spinal cord below the injury and within three weeks the rats began regaining use of their paralyzed hind legs.

Now researchers are now working on plans for a human trial.

Now up next here on NEWS STREAM, it is time to get your Union Jacks ready, it's all about the Diamond Jubilee this weekend. The celebration marks Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne. You'll have much more on the six decade long reign of Britain's monarch right here on NEWS STREAM.

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LU STOUT: Now pins and pork pies and maybe barleys and wellies (ph) are in order all over Britain this weekend. Celebrations are being held to mark the queen's jubilee, the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ascension to the throne. Now the queen is head of state in the United Kingdom and 15 commonwealth realms including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And over the centuries only one other British monarch, Queen Victoria, has served as head of state as long.

And joining me now to talk about Queen Elizabeth's reign and this weekend's events is writer and broadcaster Hugo Vickers in London.

Thank you for joining us here on NEWS STREAM. And Hugo, could you take us back to Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 after her proclamation as queen, can you describe that event?

HUGO VICKERS, WRITER: Well, it was an extraordinary day. It was the first time anything like that had ever been shown on television. There was a second night of discussion as to whether it should be. And of course commonwealth figures came from all over the world, all the people who were taking part in the ceremony in the Abbey were the great war leaders, people like Churchill was prime minister, there were figures like Alexander Montgomery, and Alan Brooke and so forth. And it was a magnificent occasion which really affirmed the queen as queen. She was -- (inaudible) the process of the proclamation. She had to go parliament to give the declaration of faith. She had to take the coronation oath. She was anointed, which was really important, that's why she will never abdicate. And then she was crowned. And it was fantastic.

LU STOUT: And fast forward to today. Support for the monarchy is as strong as it has ever been. Why? Is it the queen's intrinsic appeal. Is it the popularity of the royal couple?

VICKERS: Well, the monarchy has gone through some bad phases, as you know, in the 80s and 90s, but even then the popularity of the queen has always remained very strong. She's immensely steadfast. She's always had a very clear vision as to what she should do as queen. And that is really has been what has kept her going. And has given tremendous ability to this country. And I think it is a remarkable thing that a lady of 86 has been doing the same job faultlessly for 60 years.

She was very much eclipsed by the queen mother until 10 years ago, because the queen mother was more of an actress if you like and she, in a sense, absorbed a lot of the affections of the general public. And I always felt that we took the queen for granted too much.

But I'm glad to say that throughout this country of this year there have been tremendous celebrations already and all the schools are taking part, children are painting portraits of the queen and everything is very focused on her as well it should be.

LU STOUT: And as a historian, what will you be looking out for during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations?

VICKERS: Well, I shall just hope that the queen really enjoys it. She's looking as though she is enjoying her celebrations at the moment. She's got this fantastic river pageant on Sunday which is a remarkable thing, this wonderment, fantastic sights to be seen on the River Thames ever I think in history, which will be amazing. I'm sure she'll enjoy that.

The pop concert, if it's anything like the one 10 years ago will be amazing. And I'm glad to say there are some good old-timers like Elton John, and Flip Richard, Sherliey Bassey taking part among all the youngster that I'm not quite so familiar with. And although she be probably.

And then on Tuesday, there's a great service at St. Paul's Cathedral.

And what you must remember is that 77 years ago she attended the silver jubilee of her grandfather George V. A year-and-a-half after that, she realized after the abdication of Edward VIII that she was lucky to be queen. It's a remarkable, a remarkably long time.

LU STOUT: And quite a celebration ahead.

Hugo Vickers thank you so much for joining us here on CNN.

Now right now believe it or not our world is headed for a major collision. This illustration, it shows our galaxy, the Milky Way, it's hitting the Andromeda Galaxy. But don't worry, now astronomers predict that this it's going to happen about 4 billion years from now. And they think it will go a little something like this. Scientists say that all those stars should pass each other safely so Earth is in no danger.

Now gravity will pull the two galaxies back together. And 2 billion years after the initial crash, they will merge into one.

Now let's take a look from another angle. And here's an illustration of our current sky and Andromea is 2.5 light years away. And in 2 billion years, Andromeda looks much larger. It is that disc on the left.

Let's focus on the screen here. Now in nearly 2 billion years after that, brilliant stars as far as the eye can see. And here is another breathtaking image for you. And then the two galaxies, they wrap each other as they pass. And when the cosmic dust settles in 7 billion years, a new sky emerges.

And granted, none of us will be around to watch this happen, but it's pretty cool to imaging.

And that is NEWS STREAM, but the news continues at CNN. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next.

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