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Anti-Government Clashes Spread Across Turkey; Experienced Storm Chasers Killed In Oklahoma; Italian Teen Commits Suicide After Facebook Bullying; The Secret Of Roland Garros's Clay Courts; Environmental Activists Expose Pollution In China

Aired June 03, 2013 - 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. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now Turkey tries to pick up the pieces after days of unrest and protest across the country.

Why the people in this Chinese village feared they will get cancer.

And the power of tornadoes as more deadly twisters hit the U.S.

Now, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is calling for calm after a weekend of violent protests in some of the country's biggest cities. He says extremist elements are fueling the unrest.

Now overnight, demonstrators in Instanbul commandeered an excavator from a construction site and tried to drive it to the prime minister's office. But riot police blocked the road using smoke grenades and water cannon to disperse the protesters.

Now Turkey's interior ministry is urging residents not to take to the streets this Monday.

And this is what Istanbul looks like in the wake of the clashes. You can see debris blocking the road.

Now, the demonstrations started as a small sit-in over government plans to clear a park in central Istanbul to make way for a shopping arcade. In the past week, they have grown to the largest protest movement against the prime minister since he was elected more than 10 years ago.

And the unrest has spread beyond Istanbul with reports of confrontations in the capital of Ankara and as far away as Izmir and Adana on the Turkish coast.

Now Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news agency reports that there have been protests in 67 of the country's 81 provinces.

Now it also reports that 58 civilians are still hospitalized, and police have been using tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

This image, it's from last Tuesday, it shows a woman in Istanbul being sprayed directly in the face.

And protesters have been chanting Tayyip resign, referring to the prime minister Erdogan. They say his government has become increasingly heavy-handed and authoritarian. But in a speech on Sunday, Mr. Erdogan denied that. He also hit out at social media, which he claims is stoking the unrest saying this, quote, "now we have a menace that is called Twitter. Now the best examples of lies can be found there. And to me, social media is the worst menace to society."

Now as we've said, these protesters are now about a lot more than simply a park.

And let's see how things stand in Istanbul right now. Our Ivan Watson is there. He joins us now live.

And Ivan, just over the weekend, overnight, disturbing scenes coming out of Turkey due to these violent protests. What is the latest?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's Monday. and many people are going back to work and back to school, but the square here in the center of Istanbul, Taksim Square, still very much controlled by demonstrators who have erected barricades around it, no police presence whatsoever. The Turkish prime minister maintaining his confrontational position, his heated rhetoric which is basically insulting what is the largest street protest against the government in more than a decade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: They are the biggest anti-government protests Turkey has seen in a decade, an explosion of anger exacerbated by the Turkish police who have been criticized for their excessive use of force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) especially, they are like monsters. They can't do that.

WATSON: It's hard to believe it all started barely a week ago with this, a couple dozen protesters camped out at a central Istanbul park. They held a peaceful sit-in, protesting government plans to bulldoze one of the last green spaces left in the city center. Riot police cracked down, hitting protesters with tear gas and pepper spray.

And then something in Turkey snapped. Demonstrators began attacking the police, outraged by the behavior of the security forces.

(on camera): You can see here how the Turkish riot police are going after gatherings of people here in Instanbul's Taksim Square in the heart of the city. Come on over here. Ordinary civilians being caught up in what's taking place here. An old lady knocked on the ground by a water cannon.

(voice-over): Suddenly, it wasn't about the park anymore, it was about the prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has big ego. He has this, you know, Napolean syndrome. He takes himself as the next sultan and controlling all this Middle Eastern politics and such. He needs to stop doing that. He's just a prime minister.

And he needs to remember that we people elected him.

WATSON: Turkey's prime minister has responded with characteristic defiance, ridiculing the protesters and defending a decade in office during which his political party has won many elections.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRIME MINISTER OF TURKEY (through translator): Tayyip Erdogan is a dictator? If you are the kind of person who can call someone who serves their people a dictator, then I have no words for you.

ASLI AYDINTASBAS, COLUMNIST: If you have a prime minister who has done great things, and he really does run the economy well, but he also has this paternalistic style -- I know what's good for you. And you -- I, as your father, can decide on the ports, the bridge, the city, and the constitution. So I think people are just wanting to have more -- more inclusive form of democracy in Turkey.

WATSON: Saturday afternoon, riot police withdrew from Taksim Square, leaving behind burned out vehicles and allowing the demonstrators to help clean up the mess.

But the retreat from central Istanbul didn't stop the protests. Pre- dawn clashes erupted in other parts of Istanbul on Sunday and spread to the Turkish capital and the port cities of Izmir and Adana.

In Istanbul's Taksim Square, demonstrators have been celebrating. Events have moved so quickly, no one here really knows what will happen next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now, Kristie, the Turkish prime minister once again spoke to the media shortly before departing on a four day tour, official trip of North Africa on Monday. Take a listen to an excerpt of that appearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERDOGAN (through translator): Regarding these incidents, as a prime minister and a resident of Istanbul, I would like to say that if we'd put aside people who joined this protest with their naive emotional feelings after the social media calls, extreme elements organized these protests and unluckily people joined it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So, he continues to call the protest movement basically extremists and naive people. The crowds that I saw last night and in the early pre-dawn hours who were hurling themselves against riot police protecting Prime Minister Erdogan's office in Instanbul were not members of any one political party, these were for the most part, Kristie, university educated Turks. They were young. I would say the crowd was probably 50 percent female. And these people were just -- this was very personal. They were screaming epithets, not at the government, not at the party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but at him himself.

This appears to have become a battle of wills between this spontaneous protest movement that has erupted that is primarily young against the prime minister himself who has so dominated the political landscape for more than 10 years, Kristie.

LU STOUT: A very key details there, protest movement not driven by extremists, that as the Turkish prime minister said himself. Ivan Watson, thank you so much for your reporting. Ivan joining us live from Istanbul.

Now images like this one of riot police firing tear gas during a protest in Ankara on Sunday really give you an idea of just how tense the situation in Turkey is right now. You can check out more pictures like this in a special gallery on our website, just log on to CNN.com/international.

Now in the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron is set to speak about terror in the wake of the killing of a British soldier in London. Two men have been charged with murder in the death of Drummer Lee Rigby.

Rigby was killed last month near the Royal Artillery Barracks in the city's Woolwich district.

And one of the suspects appeared in court for the first time in the case just a few hours ago.

Atika Shubert joins us now from Westminster Magistrate's Court live. And Atika, in fact, two hearings today. What can you tell us?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it was a pretty short hearing here at Westminster Magistrate's Court, lasted only about 10 minutes. But it was very interesting on the (inaudible). He appeared in court flanked by two police officers and behind a glass panel. And he asked -- he requested to use a different name during the court proceedings. And it's something the judge (inaudible).

He asked to be called by the name Muhajeed Abu Hamza (ph) and that's how he was referred to for the rest of the hearing.

He also seemed quite agitated throughout the hearing. He interrupted the judge several times and questioned him about procedures. And at one point appeared to blow a kiss to someone in the public gallery.

And then at the -- towards the end of it, before leaving the hearing, he actually stood -- raised his arm (inaudible) his left arm, and kissed the Koran, which he'd been holding in his hand throughout the hearing.

So, it's some very interesting details to come out of this, but again it was all over quite quickly. The case is now going to be referred to the central criminal court. He will have a bail hearing within 48 hours, but he's expected to have a preliminary hearing on June 28 and that's when his case will be joined up with the other suspect in the case Michael Adebowale who also had his bail hearing earlier -- in the central criminal court earlier.

So this is basically the trial process now underway. And we'll really start to get into the trial proceedings on June 28, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, trial process now underway. And Atika, also happening today, the British government announced that the prime minister will lead a task force to fight extremism, but exactly how does he plan to do that?

SHUBERT: Yes. There is also this counter extremism task force that just met for the first time today. This is a task force that was put together immediately after the attack.

And just to -- it's a subtle point, but it's not a counterterror task force, but a counter extremism. And what they're trying to do, according to the prime minister's office, is really counter what they call a poisonous narrative of radicalism. And so they're looking to see how they can counter these more radical groups.

Now we are expecting the prime minister to actually make a statement not just on this new task force, but on the attack itself. And we're expecting that statement in another two hours or so at the common (ph).

LU STOUT: All right, Atika Shubert joining us live from London, thank you Atika.

Now a fire in northeast China has killed at least 112 people. It happened earlier in the morning at a poultry processing plant in Jilin province.

Now the state run Xinhua news agency says that more than 300 workers were inside at the time. And some told Xinhua that the gates to the plant were locked.

It took firefighters some six hours to get the blaze under control.

An official says an explosion started the fire, but it's still not clear what caused the blast.

Now you're watching News Stream, and still ahead a life cut short. Now CNN gets an exclusive look at a rarely seen side of Reeva Steenkamp. The late model's boyfriend and accused killer Oscar Pistorius is due in court this week.

Also ahead, Tornado Alley takes another hit, and this time experienced storm chasers lost their lives.

And dogs like these are bound for dinner plates in parts of Asia. And some do not survive the trip. Animal rights activist shine a light on what they say are widespread abuses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. You're looking at a visual version of all the stories in the show today. We started with the situation in Turkey. And later, we'll show you an amazing video highlighting the power of a tornado.

But now to South Africa where the Olympian accused of murdering his girlfriend is due in court again this week.

Now Oscar Pistorius, known as The Blade Runner, is charged with killing Reeva Steenkamp at his home in the early hours of Valentine's Day. Now CNN has been granted exclusive access to a number of photos from Steenkamp's early life.

And Robyn Curnow joins me now from Johannesburg with more on that. And Robyn, what more have you learned about Steenkamp?

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Well, thanks for having me on the show. But what we know is that despite the fact that she was a loving daughter, a loving friend to many people, all that's left of Reeva Steenkamp say those people are images. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: It was on the beaches of this South Africa seaside town that a young law student aspired to be a model, posing for these amateur snapshots. That young wannabe model was Reeva Steenkamp.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That'll be the shot.

CURNOW: But just a few years later, she had transformed herself into a cover girl.

She might have looked different, but she didn't change inside said her student friend Kerry Smith who took those pictures on the beach about eight years ago.

KERRY SMITH, FRIEND: If anything, that's Reeva in her natural beauty, not a stitch of makeup on, hair blowing in the wind with the sea behind her, sun setting behind her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is another one from the shoot.

CURNOW: Reeva was a confident, professional model, ambitious too, says Gareth Barclay who shot these photographs a few months before she was shot dead by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius.

Pistorius says it was a tragic accident, that he thought she was an intruder. The state says it was murder.

For now, it's just images of Reeva that are left to explain the kind of person she was.

GARETH BARCLAY, PHOTOGRAPHER: Most of the photos I took of her aren't even edited, that's just how she is, you know. Skin was always great, beautiful eyes, beautiful features.

CURNOW: Reeva asked Barclay to take this photo of the tattoo etched on her neck.

BARCLAY: For her, it was very personal to her. She never really spoke about it or anything. she just wanted a personal photo of it.

CURNOW: Reeva had a tattoo on the back of her neck that said, "only god will judge me" in Italian. Do you know why she had that specific tattoo?

SMITH: That was something that her grandfather had always said and was very close to her own heart.

CURNOW: Words, she felt, defined her while Oscar Pistorius will eventually be judged in a South African court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: OK. I want to show you, this is a cover of a local magazine here. You can see her parents releasing 100 white doves. This was at service to scatter to her ashes.

Now as strangely enough, and sadly enough, that ceremony took place on that very same beach where those early photographs were taken.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Reeva is such a beautiful young woman. And as we learn more about her life before she was killed, we know that Oscar Pistorius is due to appear in court this week. Is Steenkamp's family saying anything, making any statement ahead of that court appearance?

CURNOW: No. They've told us -- the Steenkamp family has told us that they're not going to be at any of the court appearances, that they don't actually even want to be part of the whole legal process, it's just too hard, too difficult for them.

As for Pistorius, he'll be appearing very briefly in that Pretoria magistrate's court on Tuesday. The state has asked for a postponement. Initially, we were expecting to get some sort of trial date, but that's not going to happen.

So just a very brief appearance from Pistorius tomorrow.

LU STOUT: All right, Robyn Curnow live from Johannesburg for us, thank you.

Now the military trial of the U.S. soldier charged over the WikiLeaks affair will begin at an army base in Maryland shortly. Now Bradley Manning has already admitted he leaked classified material to the controversial website WikiLeaks while he was an intelligence analyst in Iraq. And Private Manning now goes to trial in a series of charges, including aiding the enemy, which carries a possible sentence of life imprisonment.

Now, in parts of Asia it has long been common -- common practice to eat dog meat, but animal rights activists accuse smugglers of abuses in the quest for profits. And a warning, this report by Anna Coren, it contains some strong and disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Crammed into steel cages, their pleading eyes star up at the camera, these distressing images were captured by an Australian documentary team that wanted to uncover what these animals go through in the lead-up to their slaughter.

The filmmakers say most of the dogs are strays, some are stolen pets, others have been sold specifically for the dog meat trade in Vietnam.

Animal rights activists in Thailand estimate 200,000 dogs a year are illegally smuggled from northeast Thailand, across the Mekong River into Laos and then driven across the border into Vietnam where the dog meat is legal and considered a delicacy.

Up to 1,000 dogs will be transported in a single truck on a journey that lasts for days. And as you can see, the conditions are appalling.

TUAN BENDIXSEN, DIRECTOR, ANIMALS ASIAN FOUNDATION VIETNAM: During a trip, obviously when you've got dogs stacked on top of each other, they start biting -- they start biting each other, because they're just so uncomfortably. So any kind of movement, then the dog next to the one that's being crushed is obviously going to bite back.

COREN: Some don't make it, dying from suffocation and disease. Those that do survive are sold per pound.

A dog in Thailand can fetch up to $10. That number jumps to around $60 once they are served up in restaurants in Vietnam.

CRAIG SKEHAN, THE GLOBAL MALL DOCUMENTARY MAKER: Some people who own pet dogs and care for their own pet dogs will eat the meat of other dogs. So outsiders might find that hard to understand, but there is a long tradition in Vietnam of eating dog meat.

COREN: This Hanoi restaurant owner has been selling dog meat on his menu for decades.

A warning, what comes next is difficult to watch. The dogs are held in cages like this. The restaurant owner says he knocks the dogs unconscious before slitting their throats. But there are reports from animal rights activists that some dogs are killed slowly, because it's thought the adrenaline in the body makes the meat more tender.

BENDIXSEN: Dogs are highly intelligent animals. So if you -- when you kill a dog and you have a whole cage of dog next to the one that's being killed, obviously those dogs that's going to be killed next, they know what's going on.

COREN: The Thai government says it has saved thousands of dogs like these from smugglers and conducted numerous raids. Authorities have told CNN they're committed to continue efforts to stop this illegal and inhumane trade.

But activists say as long as dog meat remains legal and in demand in Vietnam, there will be more smuggling and more suffering for countless dogs.

Anna Coren, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now Malala Yousafzai is the Pakistani school girl and education advocate who was shot by the Taliban. She survived to inspire a worldwide movement for girl's education. And we're tackling the subject in advance of CNN's airing this month of the film "Girl Rising." It tells the stories of girls around the world and their struggle to get an education.

Now CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has the story of one girl from Nepal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is 16-year- old Purnima. She lives in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Purnima is one of the lucky ones. She's attending school.

PURNIMA: And I'm proud of my school.

WHITFIELD: Girls in Nepal have a higher literacy rate than boys. Room To Read, a global nonprofit group that promotes literacy and gender equality in education, is trying to change that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The girls education program started out because we found out that most families, if they were able to afford education of one child, it was boys that got preferred over girls.

WHITFIELD: Purnima attended primary school, but government education is free only through the fifth grade. Organizations like Room To Read allow her to continue her education.

PURNIMA: I'm the first person getting education in my family. We are from the poor family, so we can't afford all to go to high school.

WHITFIELD: Purnima lives with family above a carpet factory. Her father is paralyzed and her mother is blind. Without an education, Purnima says she would probably end up working at the carpet factory. But now she has big dreams.

PURNIMA: I want to be an eye doctor when I grow up because my mother is blind. So I want to be an eye doctor in the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: A lovely girl. A preview there of "Girl Rising," it's a groundbreaking film that celebrates the power and promise of educating girls. You can see a special presentation of the movie Saturday night, June 22, 9:00 pm in Hong Kong right here on CNN.

Now, you're watching News Stream. And still ahead, residents in this Chinese village worry that they may have a high risk of developing cancer. Find out why 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 more than 100 people are dead after flames tore through a poultry processing plant in northeast China. It's understood more than 300 workers were inside when fire broke out early Monday morning. About 100 of them managed to escape.

Now 10 schoolchildren, two NATO soldiers and a police officer have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. Officials say a man on a motorbike detonated an explosive in a busy market in Paktia province in the east of the country. 16 people were wounded.

Central Europe is overwhelmed by rain. Forecasters in Austria say more rain has fallen in two days than the nation usually gets in two months. Now swollen rivers have topped their banks, causing flooding in Austria, Germany, and the Czech republic. At least six people are dead and thousands have been forced from their homes.

Now let's go back to our top story. Protesters have clashed with riot police in the Turkish capital of Ankara. And earlier, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for calm and blamed the unrest on extremists.

Nick Paton Walsh is in the Turkish capital of Ankara with the very latest from there. Nick, give us an update on the protests and the political reaction there.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, if you can't hear me here, I'm amid a very loud protest here.

Let me just take you back a couple of hours to what's been happening here.

About two hours ago just near the central square in Ankara (inaudible) where there was clashes with the police yesterday, a group of young protesters gathered, some of them very young indeed, moments just jumping up and down together in unison, a bit like a pop concert to be honest, shouting slogans, anti-government, many of them say they consider Erdogan to be a dictator.

And then about an hour into that, the mass ranks of riot police, about 100 meters up the street from them, just fired tear gas into that particular crowd. And we didn't see any real evidence of the crowd behaving dangerously or threateningly. One of them was using graffiti, spray painting a cop (ph) nearby.

But really this has continued for the last hour or so. We've seen the protesters be dispelled, run into the side streets. I've seen one young girl who appears to be suffering from an epileptic fit, perhaps triggered by the tear gas, that seems to be what the people looking after her were saying.

Lots of young girls here suffering from the effects of tear gas, pouring milk into their eyes. But they seem to reassemble in a similar base. And then they get tear gassed again.

In the last hour or so, the police have -- we heard a volley of what must have been tear gas being fired. They seem to be using it all across this particular area just to try and push people out, but bizarrely that seems to be exactly what's fueling these protests.

One man I just spoke to, and I can see now clearly it's either a charge or tear gas being used to push the crowd back. There's people running very -- remarkable, they are incredibly young protesters -- they seem to be actually what's fueling the protests here.

One man I just spoke to said, look, we were -- it originally started about a park, but I'm going to stay here until -- my friend is going to replace me. He just finished his military service, in fact, he said. But in his mind, this is about protesting what the police are doing. But it seems to be a self-fueling protest here.

LU STOUT: Now Nick, we heard earlier from the Turkish prime minister blaming extremists for fueling these demonstrations. Who are the demonstrators around you. Are you seeing any hint of extremism?

WALSH: I have to say I can't see any of it, extremism. I mean you're a couple (inaudible) of what you normally would refer to as the global anti-globalization movement. You know, the V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask people have used. Some young people in surgical masks or even (inaudible). But we know there are a couple waving a small Turkish flag.

There's a strong nationalist bent here. But of course a different type of secular nationalism, perhaps, than that which the current ruling Justice and Development Party espouses.

But there's no real sign of extremism here. To be honest, apart from a fairly extreme (inaudible) police, the actions they've been taking them in the past few hours.

Although I'm seeing in front of me now, some protesters getting together a large rubbish bin. I'm not sure what they're planning on doing with that.

But anger here -- it's quite chaotic, though, not organized and not really with a political agenda, frankly, other than they don't want, really, to go home until they see the police move back.

LU STOUT: You know, there is a lot of anger, very chaotic, but just how far will it go?

I mean, earlier today we heard the prime minister saying, quote, "we will not allow these extreme groups to capture the prime minister's office in Istanbul or any other state building, but will the protests even get to that point?

WALSH: I don't think they have any chance, I mean, toward any of the main institutional buildings here at all. I mean, they have -- they're not even really using (inaudible) rocks. There's not really much of that going on at the moment. I mean, it's not (inaudible) trying to break a (inaudible) that.

But very badly organized, very young. You think they were here, potentially, because they find it all amusing. Well, it simply isn't the case. A lot of them are clearly very angry at the police. And they obviously intend to try and stay there until they've made their point with the police (inaudible).

Very loud and you can hear now that the cheers occasionally go up. It's very loud and a dynamic crowd.

LU STOUT: All right, Nick, it's great to have you live on the ground there in the Turkish capital. Nick Paton Walsh joining us live from Ankara, thank you.

And now to our Age of China series. And CNN has been taking a special look at China's rise to superpower status, but the country's phenomenal growth has come with a cost. Activists have uncovered hundreds of towns where there are high levels of pollution, and they say high rates of cancer.

David McKenzie investigates one so-called cancer village.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Feng Xiaofeng (ph) pain is raw, unending, alone with her memories of the dead.

FENG XIAOFENG, WIDOW (through translator): My husband was the pillar of the family. And when he died, it was like the pillar of our house collapsing. And then my son died, too.

MCKENZIE: Taken 10 years apart by cancer like dozens of others in this small village.

XIAOFENG (through translator): My son was perfectly healthy before the new factories opened.

MCKENZIE: He died last year.

They've come to give support to Feng because of the tragedy she's gone through. And they say they all know people who have died of cancer here. They say because of the pollution, this is a cancer village and they're angry.

"All these factories should be moved. They've caused cancer. All of these factories should be removed from here," he says.

And there are thousands in Zhejiang province, it's the center of the country's dyeing and textile industry. Once a sleepy farming region, now factories rule and poison the people says activist Wei Dongying.

She's obsessively mapped and documented toxic pollution for decades, frequently harassed and detained, she says, petitioning for change.

WEI DONGYING, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST (through translator): All I wish for is to breathe clean air, drink safe water, and use uncontaminated soil, that's all I ask for. But I guess that is too much to ask for.

MCKENZIE: Recently, scientists contracted by Green Peace found evidence of at least a dozen toxic chemicals in these rivers. But sorting the polluters from the non-polluters is nearly impossible.

They called it, the perfect smoke screen.

Showing me where she says the (inaudible) is dumped, Wei is convinced that cancer is eating away at their community.

Local officials told us they are aware of the situation and trying to combat it. It's our responsibility, they said, but they wouldn't give us specific solutions.

(on camera): We're just coming here to an area where people are farming these factories all round this river. I'm just curious to see do they feel that the pollution is affecting their livelihoods.

(voice-over): "Of course we complain and petition," says this man, "but it's useless. Ordinary people can never fight officials and win."

So he says they must just put up with the pollution. And he even works inside a textile mill, earning much more than he could in the fields.

It's the contradiction of China's growth and little consolation for Feng Xiaofeng.

She says she's asked for help countless times, but no one from the government has ever bothered to come.

David McKenzie, CNN, Wuli Village.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: A painful moment to witness there.

Now how China decides to control its pollution is a key challenge for the future. And Ma Jun is a former journalist turned environmental watchdog. He's also witnessed the ruin that pollution causes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MA JUN, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF PUBLICATION & ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: We saw in the countryside we still have up to 300 million rural residents who don't have access to safe drinking water. I've been to some of the villages and they -- I saw people, you know, trying every means to try to clean up, you know, purify the water that they got. Obviously, they're not clean.

But, for, you know boiling or putting the steps to try to purify for chemical or heavy metal pollution, that's not helpful, you know, so we saw in some villages that people reported higher rate of diseases or even cancer.

And in the cities, it's not just about water, it's also increasingly about air pollution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now Ma Jun says that one of the biggest problems is that there is no pressure for polluters to change their ways. He says it is simply cheaper to break the law and pay the penalty than try to comply with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUN: I think the biggest problem is not the lack of technology or even money, now it's the lack of motivation. The motivation should come from strong enforcement of laws and regulation. They should come from the environmental law suits and litigation, but all these are still very difficult to be done.

So as a result, the cost of violation in China is so much lower than the cost of compliance with the laws and regulations. And some -- many of these polluters, they choose to pay fines year after year without solving the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: So, it's motivation that's a problem.

Ma Jun there.

Keep up with all the latest news from China. You could find complete coverage on our website, just go to CNN.com/China.

Now the hard hit American heartland is reeling from another deadly storm. Officials in Oklahoma say that tornadoes killed at least 13 people, but they're still searching for six missing people.

This video, it captures the power of the storm, the wind topples that semi-trailer. The vehicle is a dangerous place to be in a tornado. And Chad Myers shows us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just piles and piles of debris here in Moore -- EF-4, EF-5 damage. Somewhere around 200 miles per hour. It's unimaginable what could cause a house to turn into that.

But if you think about a fender bender you've had at a highway speed, 30, 40, 50 miles per hour and the car gets bent up, I get it that it's fixable.

We came across this car. I can't tell you what kind of car this is without looking at the blue oval that says Ford. If you were in this car at 200 mile per hour wind speeds, there's no place left for you inside.

And then we came across the front, just to get even more crazy, there's no engine left. It's gone. The transmission is gone. The engine is completely somewhere else, probably blocks away,.

We talked to some tow truck drivers and they said they get addresses where to go pick up the cars and take them to the junk yard. They're finding cars three or four blocks away.

Think about what would happen to you in this car getting picked up three or four blocks away and tumbled and tumbled almost like Rusty Wallace tumbling at Daytona.

The force of mother nature was tremendous here in Moore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And this is what's left of a car that was carrying three experienced storm chasers. They were killed on Friday while following a twister in El Reno, Oklahoma.

Now Tim Sarmaras was known for his safe and scientific approach to researching tornadoes. His son Paul and another Chaser who was named Carl Young were also in this vehicle. Truly a tragedy for the families of these storm chasers.

Now let's bring up more with Mari Ramos. She joins us from the world weather center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, very tragic indeed, Kristie. When the news started coming out that those three scientists had perished in the tornado, just gives you an example of how quickly things can actually change when you're talking about a tornado. I always tell you guys if you see severe weather, yeah, we love to get the pictures, right, but the most important thing is for you to be safe. Leave it to the professionals. And you can see how dangerous this work is even for them.

Now before we get going a little bit more, I want to show you the storm path of three of these tornadoes that affected Oklahoma City in the last couple of days. There's one, there's two, there's three. This is the so-called El Reno tornado. We're going to talk about this one a little bit more, because this is where those storm chasers were and several hundred other people who were caught in the path of this tornado right on the streets. And that was a very difficult thing to have to deal with.

I want to show you a clip from storm chaser that survived. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BETTES, METEOROLOGIST, THE WEATHER CHANNEL: I've seen a lot of these in my career, but never been that close and was trying to get away from the storm at that point. But getting picked up, you know, tumbling, being airborne -- it was violent, it was rough, truly the scariest moment of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMOS: Yeah, when you look at that video, look at the car they're getting tossed around. That was the vehicle that they were actually in that Mike Bettes that you just heard from then and there.

If you come back over to the weather map over here, check this out, this is a closeup of that tornado path. Their thinking is that because it was tracking generally to the east and then all of a sudden took a path to the north, that is where you had these storm chaser fatalities, that it caught them off guard and they were not able to get out of the way in time.

By the way, the rain came down very, very heavily right after that. And there are still some people that are missing, people that were caught in this tornado out in the open. And they were trying to save themselves - - they got out of their vehicles and went into a ditch. It's actually a storm drain, then when the rain came in, that's when they were caught. And some of them are still missing. So pretty tragic situation here.

Across the central plains, there is the possibility again to see large hail and strong winds. Minimal chance for tornadoes this time around, but again the possibility of severe weather moving into those regions.

Now I want to take you to Europe here -- wow, here we're dealing with some very serious flooding, Kristie. This right over here is the Danube River, you can see how much rain has fallen across these areas, particularly in the upper portion of the Danube. In some cases, easily over 100 millimeters of rain.

I want to show you this kind of up-close -- take a look at a live picture.

You're looking at the Danube right over here. It flows from Germany and into Austria in this area here. There are three rivers that kind of come together in this area. This is Passau. And this is a webcam from that very same region. And you can see how high the water actually is.

Let's go ahead and roll the pictures, because you're going to be impressed, I think, when you see this a little more up close. And it has been very significiant.

Now, the rain, unfortunately, has not stopped across these areas. We're looking at record high levels in these rivers.

Now you've got to remember, the Danube, the Rhine, extremely important rivers for commerce, for traffic, their livelihood of so many of these areas. And when you see water like this, you know everything has come to a standstill. Hundreds of roads have been flooded in neighboring Austria as well as you can see here. Germany has been affected, Austria, parts of Switzerland, as we head back over to the Czech Republic. And unfortunately, because of the way these waters are flowing is going to take days for us to see these waters go down and the things kind of return to normal. So this is going to take a long time to actually begin to see any kind of improvement.

As far as the rain is concerned, central Europe will begin to dry out just a little bit. The rain shifts just a little bit more, I think, to central eastern Europe over the next couple of days. But like I said, Kristie, when we talk about river flooding, especially such massive rivers, all of those tributaries have to drain out into these big rivers, so those waters are going to remain high for a long time.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: Yeah, very, very worrying to see those rising water levels in so many parts of Europe. Mari Ramos, keep us up to date, thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. And up next, if you follow tennis then you know that Roger Federer has notched up another success at the French Open, but how much do you know about the clay he's playing on? Find out the secret to keeping the courts in perfect condition.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Let's go back to our visual rundown of all the stories in News Stream today.

Now earlier, we showed you that dramatic video of a truck toppling over in a tornado. And later, we'll talk about the problem of online bullying in Italy. But now I want to go to sports and the year's second tennis major the French Open.

Now what makes the French Open unique isn't the reigning champion Rafael Nadal, it is the red clay of the court. The French Open is the only tennis grand slam that is played on clay.

Now Christina Macfarlane shows us how they maintain that special surface.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The clay courts of Roland Garros may be the most distinctive of all the grand slams, but they're also the softest surface in tennis and therefore the most difficult to maintain. So we spent the day with these men, the ground staff here of Roland Garros to find out how they keep the clay in play.

(voice-over): As the sun rises over Paris, life is stirring in the ground of Roland Garros. In just a few hours, fans will flood the gates, players will take to the courts and matches will be won and lost in front of a TV audience of millions.

But before any of this can happen, there's work to be done.

This is Bruno Slastan and his clay court team. For years, they've traveled from all corners of France to oversee the prestigious Chatrier court here at Roland Garros.

(on camera): So this is the best clay court team in the world? Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the universe.

(LAUGHTER)

MACFARLANE: For Bruno, this is the end of a long few months. He's overseen the painstaking process of preparing the clay courts in time for the tournament.

BRUNO SLASTAN, HEAD GROUNDMAN, ROLAND GARROS: The clay courts have three layers. The first layer is made out of stones which stabilize the court. Then we have a layer of chalk. And the third layer is limestone. Then on top we add the smashed bricks which have two functions. The first is to protect against reflection and the second is for the sliding effect, to make the clay courts comfortable.

MACFARLANE: After removing the covers from the night before, the groundsmen have just two hours until the players arrive for first practice.

SLASTAN: We are brushing the clay because we watered it last night and the brushing brings the red back to the surface. We do this so the court stay uniform. Uniformity is a really important word in clay courts.

MACFARLANE: A flutter above reveals we're not alone. Every morning, the team are joined by the Chartier falcon whose job is to keep the Parisian pigeons from staining the masterpiece below.

After a dusting of clay, Bruno reveals the secret to maintaining the court's vibrant red color, a white powder called calcium chloride, used like a vitamin to fertilize and enrich the clay.

So this keeps the court moist throughout the day?

SLASTAN: On all stadium.

MACFARLANE: Working on one of the most legendary courts in tennis has its perks. But for Bruno, the most satisfying part of the job is meeting the demands of his inquisitive clientele.

SLASTAN: A player like Rafa Nadal who already won here seven times, still has questions. For example, he would say why is the court slower today than yesterday? Why is it faster? or Why is it more red?

So we answer his questions and that's how we get better.

MACFARLANE: Even after 25 years in the game, this veteran of clay still has much to learn.

Christina Macfarlane, CNN, Roland Garros.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And just ahead, could Facebook be held accountable for this teenager's suicide after she was allegedly bullied on the social network? We'll look into her tragic story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now, the suicide of an Italian teenager is raising questions about cyber bullying and whether the websites used for it could be held liable.

Now 14-year-old Carolina Picchio leaped from her fourth floor apartment in January after allegedly receiving thousands of vulgar messages through social media.

And before she jumped, she posted a note on her Facebook page, saying this, quote, "forgive me if I'm not strong. I cannot take it any longer."

Now an Italian prosecutor is investigating whether or not the websites involved could be held criminally responsible for the girl's death.

Now Barbie Nadeau wrote about the case in the Daily Beast. And Ralitsa Vassileva spoke to her earlier and started by asking her what drove the girl to take her own life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE NADEAU, ROME BUREAU CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: You know, this is a girl who was like so many girls of her age, you know, really, really involved with social networking. It was as much a part of her life as human networking. And she relied on Facebook and What's Up and some of these programs to communicate with her friends. And really it sort of backfired on her when she broke up with a boyfriend allegedly. He and eight -- seven of his best friends really sort of started a vengeance attack on her. And these eight boys, all under the age of 18, are also being criminally investigated for instigating her suicide.

But what's really interesting, I think, is the fact that she had pleaded with Facebook, followed the procedures and the protocols, according to her lawyers, to try to get some of the messages and there was one particular video of her taken in a bathroom, it was very compromising video, to say the very least, that she wanted taken off Facebook.

She followed the protocol, according to her lawyers, and her friends followed the protocol to try to get that video removed. And it wasn't removed.

And at the end of the day, you know, I think the prosecutors here in Italy are wondering if perhaps, you know, if someone is trying to follow the protocol to get something off of Facebook, a social networking site, and it's not removed, are they not then responsible as well if someone takes their life and do we...

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How strong is their case?

NADEAU: Well, there is a precedent here in Italy. In 2010, three Google executives here in Italy were held criminally liable for a similar situation in which a video of a handicapped boy who was being bullied very aggressively by a number of other boys, was left on the Italian servers hosted by Google. Those executives were held criminally liable and they were given a suspended prison sentence.

And I think that the prosecutors are looking at that case and say well perhaps, you know, we can use that as a precedent in this case.

At the end of the day, that's never going to bring this young girl back. And what's missing, of course, is a campaign to educate kids not to cyber bully and things like that. You know, that's sort of fallen by the wayside at this point.

VASSILEVA: I wanted to read a response from Facebook, a Facebook executive, Marine Levine posted a notice in connection with this case, saying, quote, "we will increase the accountability of the creators of content that does not qualify as actionable hate speech, but is cruel or insensitive by insisting that the authors stand behind the content they create."

What are they saying with this?

NADEAU: Well, I think it is really putting some of the responsibility back on some of these -- you know, the people who have the websites. You know, you have to be 13-years-old to have a Facebook page. And at least one of the suspects in this case is just 13, so he must have in some way, you know, lied about his age or something like that.

I suppose those are sorts of things that I think people want, you know, parents and school groups and things like that to teach kids how to be more socially accountable. I think this is just as much obviously a problem with adults as it is with teenagers and people who are just learning, you know, how to interact in a social networking environment.

But really, you know, it really comes down to whether or not you follow the rules to get something removed and it's not removed, you know, who is liable? What are you supposed to do at that point if you follow the protocols set in place?

VASSILEVA: Absolutely. If you tried to remove it and it just doesn't go away.

Barbie Nadeau, thank you so much, a very important case. We will follow it with your help. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: An important case and a very complicated story of abuse and accountability.

And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END