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Pistorius Cross-Examined For Third Straight Day; Australian Prime Minister Confident They'll Find MH370; Pope Francis Calls Human Trafficking A Crime Against Humanity; Tropical Cylone Ita Slams Northeastern Australia; Conga Drummers Fight Back Against Cuba's Ban At Baseball Games

Aired April 11, 2014 - 8:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has adjourned until Monday after prosecutors grill the South African athlete about the night he shot his girlfriend.

Australia's prime minister says officials are very confident that signals heard in the Indian Ocean are from Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

And one of the founders of virtual reality firm Oculus tells CNN why they chose to sell the company to Facebook.

More hostile interrogation today in the trial of Oscar Pistorius. Now the prosecutor Gerrie Nel continued to try to poke holes into the Olympians account of the night he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Now Nel is trying to call the defendant's character and credibility into question.

Now he has repeatedly accused Pistorius of changing his version of events and of lying to the court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERRIE NEL, PROSECUTOR: With the utmost respect, Mr. Pistorius, this is now the biggest indication of you tailoring evidence. You cannot have made that mistake. It's impossible to do.

OSCAR PISTORIUS, DEFENDANT: Mr. Nel, please read the context in which I said that.

NEL: I'm reading that and I'm asking you why did you make the mistake, sir?

PISTORIUS: I didn't make the mistake, my lady.

NEL: You cannot explain the mistake in the way that you're doing. You're tailoring your evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Robyn Curnow is following the trial from South Africa. She joins me live from outside the court in Pretoria. And Robyn, it was another day of relentless cross-examination. Tell us more about how the prosecutor has been trying to undermine the credibility of Oscar Pistorius.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely.

He baited, he goaded Oscar Pistorius all morning. And this isn't just about proving Oscar Pistorius's version of events is implausible, Gerrie Nel is trying to put across that his version of events is not even possible.

Now throughout the morning there was this focus on whether or not Oscar Pistorius was contradicting himself, whether or not he was making mistakes. He did concede that, as you heard, so much so that this brought to attention of the judge.

Take a listen to how she reacted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEL: If you want time, we will discuss it with your legal team.

PISTORIUS: My lady, it's not that want time, it's that I'm tired. I'm going to be tired -- I don't need time. I am tired. It's not going to change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: OK, well later on after that discussion, that conversation, the judge said, listen if you're tired, why are you making so many mistakes, if you're tired essentially you need to rest. Can you handle this? Because remember this is his legal responsibility, it's his legal right to tell his side of the -- excuse me, to tell his side of the story. So the judge was making sure that he can't be tired, he can't be over emotional as we've seen because he has to put on the record his side of the story and he has to be sure about it. And she has to know that.

LU STOUT: Robyn, a key question that was raised earlier today in the courtroom there was about Oscar Pistorius's decision to go toward the danger. How did Pistorius explain that moment, his decision to go to the door and to fire the shots?

CURNOW: Well, that is, of course, also such a focus, such a key question for the state, because Oscar Pistorius's consistently said all along that he felt scared, he didn't have his prosthetic legs on, he was fearful of an intruder in the night. So the state essentially saying well if you were so fearful, if you were so scared, if you really wanted to protect Reeva Steenkamp, why didn't you just leave by the bedroom door? Why did you go forward on your stumps? Why did you approach the danger?

And Oscar Pistorius replying, well that's me, Oscar. I want to confront them. I want to stand up for them.

Now, this also, remember, goes back to a key point made during some of his earlier testimony when he described how his mother brought him up, saying that when he was a school child, when he was bullied for having no legs, his mother sent him back to school saying you've got to deal with it, you fight your own battles, you're on your own. So that response very much plays into the larger context of how Oscar Pistorius and his defense team are trying to prove that he deals with danger.

LU STOUT: The court looking into the issue of his credibility. I want to ask you about Pistorius's sincerity, because that has really been examined all this last week. There are questions out there about whether he is acting or saying rehearsed lines. When you were in the courtroom and you're listening and you're watching Oscar Pistorius, how do you gauge his sincerity in court?

CURNOW: Well, you know, frankly I don't think it's my opinion that matters. I mean, it doesn't matter what anybody thinks except the judge. I mean, she has to assess just whether she thinks he is being genuine, whether he's being authentic, whether his version of events is being conducted in a proper way, you know, and I think really it is so important that she believes him.

So there isn't a jury system here, there isn't this emotional response a lay person like you or me or many of our viewers sitting there watching are passing judgment on the way we think he's reacting.

I mean, really when it boils down to it, the judicial system, the law here in South Africa is all about the facts. It's about how the judge interprets the law and of course whether the judge assesses he's credible.

Now these questions about whether or not she screamed -- Reeva Steenkamp screamed after the first shot, how Oscar Pistorius responds to those questions under pressure, all very important and how the judge assesses him.

In terms of how I've (inaudible) and watched him in court. He's stressed. He's clearly remorseful. He was clenching his teeth very, very hard today, his jaw. He really looked like he was struggling. Whether or not that's an indication of his guilt or innocence, you know, we just can't make our own judgment on that, can we?

LU STOUT: Of course, of course.

Robyn Curnow reporting live from Pretoria. Again, court adjourned until Monday. The trial will continue then. Thank you, Robyn.

Now it is day 35 in the search for flight 370. And while the search agency says there are no new developments, the Australian prime minister has given some hope of an imminent breakthrough.

Now in Shanghai today, Tony Abbott says he is confident that the searchers are narrowing in on the plane's flight recorders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometers, but confidence in the approximate position of the black box is not the same as recovering wreckage from almost 4.5 kilometers beneath the sea, or finally determining all that happened on that flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Tony Abbott there.

Now officials say a fifth signal detected on Thursday is unlikely to be connected to the plane's black boxes.

Now let's go straight to our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance. He joins me live from Perth, Australia. And Matthew, we're getting these mixed messages about the new signals. What's happening here?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been a very clear message about the fifth ping that was detected by an Australian air force -- Orion P3 observation plane that was flying over the area where the pings are being monitored for. Now, according to the JACC, the Joint Agency Coordination Committee, they're saying that it's not related to the whereabouts of the missing Malaysian airliner.

There's been two other -- four other, sorry, separate incidents, acoustic events where they've been recording, detecting, monitoring pings from under the surface. The first couple of those events took place at the weekend. And then the second couple of those events took place on Tuesday.

Since then, there's been no further detection as far as we're aware of any kind of acoustic signals coming from underneath the ocean in the area they're searching. And the search is still continuing, of course, with ships in the area monitoring the -- for any kind of pulses that are being emitted from the black box flight recorders.

And the search is continuing by the air as well, particularly the search for debris, which is taking place in a slightly different area where the search for the pings is taking place because of the tidal flow and things like that.

And so all the searches are still underway, but as I say, as at this point we haven't had anything actually confirmed and verified as being from the black box flight recorders, Krisite.

LU STOUT: And yet in Shanghai today, again the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying that he is, quote, "very confident" that the signals were coming from the plane's black boxes.

Why is he so confident?

CHANCE: Yeah, I think it's true that Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, went further than any other Australian official has gone in characterizing the progress so far. For instance, he said that, you know, he was very confident that the signals being monitored under the Indian Ocean were from the black box flight recorders. He said that the search area had been narrowed down to within some kilometers.

And so he was much more sort of positive and specific than others engaged in the search, perhaps people more directly engaged in the search have been -- particularly Angus Houston -- he's heading up the multinational search effort. And he made the point, perhaps in an attempt to claw back on some of the anticipation created -- and the optimism created by those prime ministerial remarks -- he said, look, you know, in the past 24 hours there's been no specific breakthrough in the search.

And so, you know, Angus Houston very cautious, not wanting to, in his words, give the families of the victims any false hope. But obviously reading between the lines, there's a lot of confidence amongst the search teams that at the very least they're in the right place. And so in that sense, the Australian Prime Minsiter Tony Abbott wasn't really speaking out of turn.

LU STOUT: OK. So they're confident that they're in the right place. At what point with they deploy that underwater drone, the Blue Fin 21?

CHANCE: Well, they're not going to deploy that, they say, until such times as they're absolutely convinced that there are no further pings being emitted from the black box flight recorders. Remember, the shelf life on those flight recorders is 30 days. It doesn't mean that stop emitting pings after 30 days, but the signal potentially gets less very quickly. We're on, what, kind of 30, 35 days now or something in that region.

And so there's this every possibility that in the coming days they will end that search.

But at the moment, they're continuing with it. Only when they've ended it, though, will they put that submersible down, which will continue to look for the wreckage of the missing airliner, but it will do so at a much slower pace. And so first of all they want to get all the acoustic information they can, all the acoustic data they can collect using the ping tracking devices. And only then, when they have to deploy, will they deploy that submersible.

LU STOUT: Matthew Chance, reporting live from Perth, Australia. Thank you, Matthew.

Now you are watching News Stream. And coming up this hour, a land in limbo. Amid tensions in Ukraine, why does this breakaway state want to align with Russia?

Also ahead, he calls it a crime against humanity. Pope Francis joins the fight to end human trafficking.

And with Syrian refugees pouring into Lebanon, a mass vaccination program begins to prevent the spread of polio. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now Russia's top prosecutor says he sees no reason to hand over ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to Kiev.

Now the prosecutor general says Yanukovych is Ukraine's legitimate president. And that to his knowledge Yanukovych has not committed any crimes.

In Ukraine, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is visiting the east of the country to try to resolve a standoff with pro-Russia activists.

Earlier this week, a Ukrainian government minister said that the situation would be resolved by today either through negotiations or by force.

NATO officials have released a series of satellite images. They appear to show large amounts of military hardware, including tanks, helicopters and surveillance aircraft all massed at different places near the Ukrainian border.

Now we sent CNN's Phil Black to investigate and here is what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've returned to this remote spot in southwestern Russia. And in the villages of Tukolova (ph) and Kusminska (ph). The first time we were here, we found a training site, a military training site with not a lot of training going on. But we've come back because NATO has released a satellite image which it says proves this location is part of Russia's military buildup near the Ukrainian border.

The photo claims to show tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Other images are labeled motorized infantry. NATO says were captured by a private satellite on March 27. Two weeks later, we can only see trucks coming and going, some more parked near the perimeter, dozens at the most.

A local shepherd, Akam Tymokanov (ph) tells me he saw many armored vehicles, including tanks, arrive here last night. Other residents say those forces carried out exercises and have since left.

NATO also released images, which it says show another site further east outside the town of Lovocharkask (ph). Here, they said to have captured an artillery brigade and more motorized infantry. Again, the pictures are two weeks old.

We found this military encampment just outside of Novocharkask (ph), it is difficult to make out the size and numbers of the forces back there. We don't want to get too much closer and risk upsetting the local people manning the perimeter. But we can make out at least one armored personnel carrier through that tree line.

It's the Kamanovsky (ph) training ground. We can't be certain it's the same site NATO is referring to, but it's the only place Russia has admitted withdrawing troops from since the crisis began. They even allowed media to capture the event.

That was on March 31, four days after the NATO image was snapped from space. Russia's defense minister announced a battalion of motorized infantry had finished drills here and was returning to its permanent base.

Russia has always insisted the extra forces in this region are only here to conduct exercise then they'll go home.

NATO says this series of fuzzy satellite photos back up its claim there are 40,000 plus Russian troops ready to roll across the Ukrainian border.

But here on the ground at Russia's western frontier, it is impossible to verify either side's claim. The only certainties are the vastness of the countryside, the poor roads connecting remote communities, and the overwhelming belief among the people here that war with Ukraine is unthinkable.

Phil Black, CNN, in the Rostov region, southwestern Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Let's take a closer look at one of the other places NATO has highlighted in new satellite images. Now about 140 kilometers from Ukraine is the Russian air base of Buturlinovka. Now we're going spin around, because these new NATO images are oriented with north at f the bottom and south at the top.

Now the Google Earth image of the empty base is from last summer, but in the new satellite images taken on April 2, you could see a large number of jets that were not there before. If you zoom in even closer and you can see what NATO says are SU 27 and SU 30 Flankers, SU 24 Fencers and MiG 23 Foxhounds.

Now sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine is the self-declared country Transnistria. Now people there speak Russian and generally feel a kinship to Russia so much so many people there want to be Russian citizens.

CNN's Karl Penhaul gives us this rare look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Border to a breakaway state. Welcome to Transnistria -- well, not quite.

As NATO worries this may be Moscow's next target for invasion, pro- Russian officials here are barring curious foreign journalists.

We got through the border now at the third time of trying. Our cover story here was that we were going to a miniskirt competition, which is being staged at one of the local night clubs tonight.

Driving past old apartment blocks and rundown factories, it's clear Transistria needs more than a miniskirt to give it glamor. (inaudible) sad Russian song says "I've no home to go to and nobody to love me." That could be the anthem of Transistria, it's a land in Limbo, recognized by no sovereign nation, a land that still lives under the hammer and sickle, where folk at this fleamarket still hanker after the glory days of the Cold War.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Of course it was good with the Soviet Union. We wanted to be with Russia and still want to be with Russia.

PENHAUL: It's a land where Lenin rises like a guardian angel.

This is at the heart of one of Russia's so-called frozen conflicts, those where unresolved political and territorial disputes that NATO chiefs fear Moscow could reignite in a bid to once again expand its influence across the region.

Even if Russian tanks do roll in, it wouldn't be much of an invasion. Locals say they'd welcome it.

NADEJDA HARITONOVNA (through translator): Here, people are all for it. If the Russian military comes, they'll all cry hurray.

PENHAUL: Students Katja (ph) and Sergey (ph) more focused on love not war say they'll head to Russia for work when they graduate.

SERGEY, STUDENT (through translator): If the Russians come, it won't be a tragedy. The Russian military is already here.

PENHAUL: When the Soviet Union collapsed, Transistria waged a war to split from Moldova. Russian soldiers stepped in to stop the fighting. They still man bases and checkpoints here.

In the countryside, Anna Ivanna thinks closer ties with Russia will bring economic benefits like cheaper energy and better pensions.

ANNA IVANNA, TRANSNISTRIA RESIDENT (through translator): Why do we need Europe? It's good for us to be with Russia.

PENHAUL: Transnistrians have repeatedly called to join the Russian Federation. If Moscow now decides to welcome them, no need for an invasion like NATO warns, just read the writing on the wall.

Is this simply about star-crossed lovers or perhaps a sign of the political times? I love you so, but why I love you I never know. A message to Russia with love.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Tivaspol, Transnistria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now he is known as the people's pope for his staunch defense of the poor and the vulnerable. And now Pope Francis is saying enough is enough about human trafficking. That story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong you're back watching News Stream.

Now Pope Francis has asked for forgiveness for priests who sexually abuse children. Now the pope made his comments in an interview with Vatican radio on Friday. And it comes two months after the UN slammed the Vatican's handling of sexual abuse inside the Catholic church and accused the church of protecting itself rather than victims.

Now Pope Francis is also speaking out against another cause he feels strongly about: human trafficking. On Thursday, he met with victims condemning the practice as a crime against humanity.

Julie Etchingham has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIE ETCHINGHAM, ITV NEWS: Stepping out of his famous Ford Focus, Pope Francis and a moment of tenderness with victims of trafficking whose harrowing stories shocked the conference.

Their identities have to be hidden, even alongside one of the most famous faces on earth and his famous smile clearly lifted their spirits. They know he has taken their cause to his heart.

Then police chiefs, politicians and bishops on their feet and are welcomed by the new cardinal of England and Wales Vincent Nichols.

As ever, Pope Francis didn't mince his words, describing human trafficking as an open wound on the body of contemporary society. It was a message he underlined in an extremely rare moment when he spoke to us just minutes later.

Holy Father, what message do you have for those who carry out the crime of human trafficking and what message do you have (inaudible)?

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): It's an absolute shame. It's a crime against humanity. It's a form of slavery. And as Christians, those who suffer are the body of Christ, the flesh of Christ. Humanity still hasn't learned how to cry and to lament. We need many tears in order to understand the dimension of this crime.

ETCHINGHAM: Holy Father, thank you very much indeed.

With every word weighed carefully and now resounding in the room, time for a final send off from police chiefs and bishops as Pope Francis prepared to leave.

There's little doubt in the pulling power of Pope Francis. 20 police chiefs from around the world have come to see him here at The Vatican. But they know how passionately he cares about human trafficking. And they know how closely he'll be watching their work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now an estimated 20 million to 30 million people live in slavery around the world today. Now CNN's Freedom Project has been shining a spotlight on this tremendous injustice. And you, too, can take a stand against slavery. Just go to CNN.com/FreedomProject to find out how. You could also follow us on Twitter @CNNFreedom, one word.

Now if and when key parts of the missing Malaysian airliner are retrieved, American experts may step up their involvement in the investigation. That story ahead.

And a decade ago, public health officials in Lebanon thought that they had seen the last of polio. And now they're vaccinating against the disease once again. We'll tell you why. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

The Oscar Pistorius trial continued with a third day of intense questioning from the prosecutor Gerrie Nel. And today, Nel focused on the events of the night Pistorius shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Nel accused the Olympic sprinter of altering his account of the night and questioned the credibility of his claims.

Now today, no new apparent leads in the search for flight 370, that's according to the agency coordinating the search west of Australia. Officials say a signal detected on Thursday is unlikely to be related to the plane's data recorders.

A standoff with pro-Russia protesters continues in eastern Ukraine. Officials are urging demonstrators to disarm and to leave occupied buildings.

Now meanwhile, Russia's top prosecutor says Moscow will not extradite former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych back to Kiev.

Bayern Munich will face Real Madrid in the semifinal of the Champion's League. It is a clash that pits the defending champions from Germany against the team that has won the European Cup more times than anyone else. Now the other match sees Chelsea face Atletico Madrid. The semifinals begin on the 22nd of April.

Well, just how would investigators retrieve the so-called black boxes, or any debris? It's likely to be a painstaking operation to send remote vehicles thousands of meters into the deep. George Howell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once you found the needle in a haystack, how do you extract it? That's what investigators are up against in the search for flight 370 as they try to hone in on the black boxes.

LT. COL. MICHAEL KAY, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Authorities and search operators actually found the needle before they found the haystack. It's quite unprecedented.

HOWELL: Once you know where to look, how do you get down there, some 14,000 feet below the Indian Ocean?

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: There's one of two ways you do it. You either do it with a remote vehicle that is not tethered to a ship on the top or you do it with a tethered remote vehicle.

HOWELL: The former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board says similar types of vehicles went almost 13,000 feet deep during the search for the cockpit voice and data recorders from the 2009 Air France crash off the coast of Brazil.

The recorders were found about two years after the crash, long after the pingers had died. Under water vehicles were also used to create artifacts from the Titanic. But before sending the vehicles down, investigators must first map the terrain, a step that takes time and requires patience.

GOELZ: If it's in rocky or cavernous terrain, it could be challenging. But once the wreckage is identified, these vehicles and operators have extraordinary capabilities.

HOWELL: Locating them is one thing, but pulling the black boxes from the incredible depths is another. The remote controlled vehicles, armed with sonar, cameras, lighting and remote control arms may sift through silt and potentially through wreckage in pitch dark waters.

GOELZ: It can be painstaking. It can be very difficult. Sometimes the boxes have separated from the wreckage. Sometimes the boxes have separated from their pingers. So this is going to being a long process.

HOWELL: George Howell, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: OK. Time now for your global weather forecast. And an update on a powerful tropical cyclone that's making landfall in Queensland. Details now with Mari Ramos. She joins me from the World Weather Center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie, this is a powerful tropical cyclone making landfall in a vulnerable area. The threat for storm surge and for flooding remains across the region, but the storm itself did make landfall.

Let's go ahead and start over here. This is Tropical Cyclone Ita. Look how large this storm is. And also very powerful. It would have been a category 4 or 5 hurricane here in what we would call it in the U.S. And it was considered a category 5 hurricane -- or tropical cyclone in this part of the world.

The tropical storm force winds were extending out, covering an area of 185,000 square kilometers. That's how large this weather system was. And already since yesterday, the outer bands of the storm were already affecting the northern coast of Queensland. So we're really talking about a monster storm.

This right here, the calm before the storm. We have some video to show you of once rain began to move in in the early afternoon hours and the seas became very rough across some of these areas. One of the bigger concerns is that threat for storm surge, especially on those capes and areas that face -- that stick out into the ocean and this storm coming in from the north, you really could end up with some pretty significant storm surge there. That's one of the concerns.

People were preparing as best they could. I've got to tell you tape doesn't do anything to windows. You really need to use board and board them up as best as possible to try to protect it from flying debris and of course from the strength of the wind.

If you come back over to the weather map over here, let's go ahead and get into the specifics of the storm.

This is what the radar looks like. And actually some of the observations. In Cape Flattery, they've already had winds over almost 160 kilometers per hour, wind gusts that strong. And in Cooktown they've already had 74 millimeters of rain and more rain is expected along this area as the storm continues to rake the coastline.

Even though it's not expected to be as strong as it was once it moves past Cooktown and then begins to approach Cairns, we really could see a significant amount of rainfall. I think that's going to be the bigger concern with Tropical Cyclone Ita, even though the wind is nothing to sneeze at.

Look at that, 230 kilometer per hour wind steady, 280 kilometer per hour wind gusts. And it is moving not too fast, about how it should be, about 17 kilometers per hour right along that coastline. So that's going to be the concern.

Here you see the storm making landfall just north of Cooktown and it's going to continue to bring that heavy rain along the coast. Because the storm is so large, we're already seeing some very strong rain moving into the Cairns area, very vulnerable areas, like I said, because of the potential for flooding and also the potential for that storm surge could be a concern.

There you see the red is the cyclone force winds, the tropical storm force winds extend out for -- covering quite a large area. And these are the areas that have those gale warnings that extends all the way down just near Ingham.

And then the storm -- here's the forecast, continuing to track along this area passing Townsville and then beginning to move out here with winds probably close to 100 kilometers per hour as it continues to weaken, but remember the main concern was going to be the rain. These areas in red here, Kristie, that could be about 25 centimeters of rainfall just in the next two days alone, that's why the concern for rain is there.

Very quickly on the other side of Australia, we of course are -- one of our top stories continues to be the search for Malaysian Airlines MH 370. And what we have here is actually pretty good weather compared to what we had in areas when they were searching farther to the south.

So the good luck with the weather continues. In our CNN exclusive high resolution model, you can see a little bit of cloud cover that begins to move in, perhaps some rain showers, but the winds are expected to stay light and the rain for the most part expected to stay away, so really we couldn't ask for a better search conditions along that region. Back to you.

LU STOUT: Very, very good to hear. Appreciate that update of the weather conditions there in the search zone. Mari Ramos, thank you.

Now the Lebanese government and aid agencies, they have begun a countrywide campaign to vaccinate children against polio. They're hoping to prevent a resurgence of the disease as more refugees from Syria arrive each day. Arwa Damon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the makeshift Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon where there is a polio vaccination campaign underway. It's part of an urgent nationwide effort. This region had been polio free for more than a decade, but the war in Syria changed all of that.

A UN agency has described this most recent outbreak as being perhaps the most challenging in the history of polio eradication.

Polio first broke out in Syria in last October in the eastern part of the country. But since then has spread to a number of other provinces. There was just a case that was confirmed in Iraq.

Inside Syria in rebel held areas, teams of volunteers have been trying to administer polio vaccinations. There are campaigns taking place in Iraq and Egypt, now in Lebanon. This is a direct result of the fighting inside Syria that saw the health system there collapse entirely. Polio is a silent and deadly disease that knows no boundaries.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Zahle (ph), Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, Hillary Clinton had a near miss on stage yesterday. A shoe was hurled from the audience and it whizzed right past her ear, but it's not the first time politicians have been on a collision course of flying footwear. We take a closer look next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now last month, Facebook sprung a surprise by paying $2 billion for the virtual reality firm Oculus. Now they make the Rift. That's a headset that covers your eyes and makes you feel as if you're looking at an infinitely large TV.

Now it's garnered plenty of attention from the tech sector, so it wasn't a surprise -- or it was a surprise when it was bought by a big social network.

Now the Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe told CNN's Laurie Segall why they chose Facebook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDAN IRIBE, CEO, OCULUS: The partnership wasn't about money. I mean, we didn't run a process. We didn't go and talk to other companies and try to shop it around or something like that. Internally, we all wanted to partner with Facebook. We felt like that was the right partnership.

They don't have a platform. They have a website and a set of mobile apps, the most popular mobile apps out there. But they don't have their Android. They don't have a platform. And looking at Oculus, basically Mark said, look, we're willing to make -- we're willing to take the bet that this is going to be the next big platform and that we can really -- and maybe the final platform. And you'll have...

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY: Even if Google is knocking on your door, that was not something you'd be interested in?

IRIBE: Yeah, I mean, getting the attention of somebody like Mark and his team and making -- knowing that we're going to be a big focus of what they want to do over the next decade, understanding how important social and communication was going to be to this, that this could be the most social platform of all time, because you'll finally have face-to-face communication.

Ultimately, this will largely replace 2D monitors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: So, Facebook wants to turn the Oculus Rift into a new platform like Windows or Android, but it's not an easy idea for someone to grasp. Afterall, virtual reality was that big, hyped concept from the 1990s, a vision of the future that is decades old. So Iribe laid out his pitch for why he believes virtual reality is the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRIBE: You can actually just look around and you can have objects in front of you, you can experience different gaming things. You can have an IMAX theater and then to actually experience a shared sense of presence, this, where you truly believe you're somewhere and now you actually believe other people are there with you and you look at them and you know if they look at something, you can both look at the same thing together. There's no more window, that's I think going to be the magic of virtual reality for a long time is going to be this shared sense of presence. And that's largely based around kind of a social communication layer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now Oculus is not the only company with virtual reality plans. Last month, Sony unveiled Project Morpheus, a virtual reality headset for the Playstation 4.

Now, the troubled rollout of the Obama administration's health care website may have claimed a political casualty. Kathleen Sebelius is stepping down from her post as U.S. Health and Human Service secretary after five years on the job. Now White House officials insist Sebelius made the decision to resign and was not forced out.

Now she was criticized after the website's disastrous launch last year. She apologized publicly before a congressional hearing in October.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Let me say directly to these Americans, you deserve better. I apologize. I'm accountable to you for fixing these problems. And I'm committed to earning your confidence back by fixing the site.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The White House says more than 7 million people have now enrolled for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Now it was a close call for Hillary Clinton yesterday. Now she was forced to duck out of the way when a woman in the audience hurled a shoe at her during a speech in Las Vegas. CNN's Brianns Keilar has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: In about two -- what was that, a bat? Was that a bat? That's somebody throwing something at me? Is that part of Cirque du Soleil?

(LAUGHTER)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton cracking jokes just seconds after a woman hurled a shoe at her during a paid speech in Las Vegas to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.

CLINTON: I didn't know solid waste management was so controversial.

KEILAR: The hurler who slipped in without a ticket was immediately subdued and taken into custody. It's not the first time objects have been thrown at a politician. An Iraqi journalist chucked not one but two shoes at President Bush during this news conference and protesters in Egypt through tomatoes and then Secretary of State Clinton's motorcade.

The latest incident nowhere near as threatening.

CLINTON: Thank goodness she didn't play softball like I did.

KEILAR: Perhaps an item for her new memoir which her publishers said this week will come out in mid-June. Until then, expect some more dodging from Clinton, not shoes but questions about her presidential ambitions.

CLINTON: And I am thinking about it.

KEILAR: Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, in New Zealand, it was a day of fun, sun, and a little competition for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Now the couple went head to head on rival yachts around Aukland Harbor Friday morning. Of course they didn't do it alone, they had the help of Team New Zealand and the support of crowds cheering them on.

And while Prince William reportedly told people the night before that he would sail to victory, Kate showed no mercy sweeping him in both races.

Now the royal couple and their son, Prince George, are on a three week tour of New Zealand and Australia.

Now the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is fast approaching. And CNN is airing its landmark series on the struggle that defined the second half of the 20th Century. We have a preview of this week's offering ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now during the Cold War, Russian authorities made up charges and forced confessions. It was all a means of keeping the Soviet empire in line.

Now take a look at an excerpt now from the latest episode of CNN's special series Cold War. This week on Russian show trials.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNETH BRANAGH, ACTOR: To subdue protest, Moscow ordered show trials of leading eastern European Communists. In Czechoslovakia, Rudolph Slansky (ph), party secretary, was among those chosen for sacrifice.

EDUARD GOLDSTUCKER, COMMUNIST OFFICIALS, ARRESTED 1951: Stalin needed to discipline his new camp, his new empire. And he disciplined it to such an extent that people living in those countries should not develop any idea of being able to do anything except what he orders them to do. And one of the matters of disciplining it was terror.

BRANAGH: Slansky (ph) was charged with titoism (ph), spying and sabotage. His confession was fiction, drafted by Soviet advisers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Eve at the beginning, when confronted with bourgeois power, you behaved as an opportunist and a coward, not as a communist.

UNIDENTIFIIED MALE 9through translator): Yes.

DMITRI SUKHANOV, POLITBURO SECRETARIAT (through translator): The initial investigation results were prepared and checked. If the evidence in these cases didn't meet the aims of the security services, then it was altered. Really, it was a fabrication to prove what otherwise couldn't be proved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator0; What a chain of shocking crimes. But despite their conspiracy, sabotage, and their foul means, they were smashed.

GOLDSTUCKER: They key was the confession of the indicted person. And then there was no need of any proofs. As soon as the confession was obtained, that was enough for the trial and the sentence. So we were put at the disposal of the secret police with almost unlimited powers over us to bring us into a state where we were prepared to make that confession.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And tune in this Saturday for the next episode of CNN's landmark series Cold War. In the USSR, an increasing cult of personality is being built up around Stalin and a more repressive police state is taking hold. That's the next Cold War, Saturday at 7:00 pm in Hong Kong.

Now it seems diehard baseball fans in Cuba will not be silenced. Cuban officials recently banned the fan's noisiest way of cheering inside stadiums, but when they did you might say that the fans beat back.

Patrick Oppmann explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cuba's fanatically baseball fans just can't help themselves, the need to make noise, lots of it. And for pure earsplitting high decibel loudness there's no topping the conga drum. Israel Arias Leva (ph) plays the congas hoping the noise will make his team play better.

"For us, helping the team is important," he says. "Our team, Santiago, is like our mother or father. It's like food or water. It can't be denied. It's in our blood."

This conga drum line has been in existence for nearly a century. But last year, their music almost stopped.

Cuban officials said the drums were too distracting and banned them from stadiums, a decision even some players questioned.

TONY CONZALEZ, HAVAN TEAM TRAINER (through translator): There are players that get bothered by the congas. Me, personally, back when I played and I heard them, it fired me up.

OPPMANN: The ban was part of a crackdown on what officials call social indiscipline, the growing disregard for authority and revolutionary conformity. Stadiums packed with raucus fans present a big target.

Except the fans fought back.

At first, the Cuban government tried to ban the conga drums, but the public backlash was so swift and loud that the government instead limited where and when the drums could be played, a rare reversal in a country where authorities are not used to be questioned.

The congas are back at games, but now face more restrictions, which for the most part the drummers seem to ignore.

"So they said between innings we could play," he says. "But what really happens is we play all nine innings, otherwise it's too short. The players need us to lift their spirits."

But at least at this game, the conga players can't drum their team to victory. Santiago is shut out by Havana and one advanced to El Clasico, Cuba's World Series.

There's always next season.

Because for many more years, and games to come, these drummers say they will play on.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, a woman in Brazil was a target of an attempted robbery in Rio this weekend. You might not think that's big news, except in this case it happened while she was on the news talking about crime.

And although the interviewer, sorry to say, didn't catch the mugger, the woman did not lose her necklace. According to local reports, the robber dropped it as he was running away.

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

END