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NEWS STREAM

Protests in Turkey over Prime Minister Erdogan's Handling of Mine Fire; Anti-Chinese Protesters in Vietnam Set Fire to Factories; Grenades Tossed Into Crowds of Protesters in Bangkok Kill 3, Injure 23; Wildfires Threaten Homes In Southern California; Free Speech In Egypt Threatened; Russia Threatens to Abandon International Space Station Early

Aired May 15, 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.

As Turkey mourns those lost in a mine disaster, anger builds against the government of Prime Minister Erdogan.

Inside the ruined Syrian city of Homs. Residents return to see the wreckage left by years of fighting.

And we'll explain how Russia is applying pressure to the U.S. in space.

We are following several significant protests around the world this hour.

Now in Turkey, Anger mounts of Tuesday's mine disaster. Now people had taken to the streets calling for the prime minister's resignation. And now labor unions want a nationwide strike to protest what they say are poor safety standards.

Now in Thailand, the army chief tells demonstrators to avoid violence or he says the military will have to take action. That warning comes after an attack killed three anti-government protesters in Bangkok overnight.

And in Vietnam, the government is under pressure to contain days of anti-China rallies and punish people who set fire to factories in an industrial park.

Now, we begin in Turkey where there's anger over the prime minister's response to the nation's deadliest mining disaster. Many are calling Mr. Erdogan's remarks insensitive.

Now meanwhile, President Abdullah Gul spoke at the site of the disaster just a short time ago. He expressed condolences to victims' families gathered there in Soma.

Now despair and anger are clearly on display there. You're looking at live pictures now at the mine site there in Soma.

Now more bodies have been recovered from the mine, but two days into this disaster hope is fading that anyone still inside could be alive.

At least 282 people are confirmed dead. And as the nation mourns those lives lost, the death toll is expected to go higher.

Diana Mangay is covering this disaster. She joins me now live from Soma. And Diana, the Turkish president Abdullah Gul, he was at the mine site earlier today. He spoke within the last hour. How has he been received there compared to Prime Minister Erdogan?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly he left far better impression, which wouldn't be hard if we look at the comments that the Turkish prime minister made yesterday. He effectively said that these kinds of accidents were par for the course in the mining industry and started quoting various accidents going back to Britain in the 19th Century to convey his message. And he was then reviled, essentially booed by protesters in the town of Soma.

And then this extraordinary thing happened where one of his entourage -- and I think you can show that photograph -- one of his entourage is seen kicking a protester, which gives you a very real sense of the sort of polarizing impact that this man and his prime ministerial authority has on this country.

At the mine behind me, the rescue work goes on, but really, Kristie, at this stage it is more recovery than rescue as you said hopes very, very low that they will be able to find anyone alive after this tragedy.

Let's just take a look back at the events of the last 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNAY: Families in agony, devastated by the loss of more than 280 loved ones in the Soma coal mine in western Turkey. It's here at the bottom of this mine shaft that a power transformer exploded, sparking an electrical fire on Tuesday. Hundreds of miners trapped nearly a mile underground.

This woman screams, "let this mine take my life, too." As relatives lifeless bodies were recovered. The cause of death: carbon monoxide poisoning according to the Turkish energy minister.

At least 88 people found alive, but the incredible loss of life make this Turkey's deadliest mining disaster. The country already embroiled by political unrest, as unions now threaten to strike, angry because opposition leaders flagged underground safety concerns just last month.

Now, with interest, Turkish government officials say the Soma mine was inspected twice just this past march, but no health nor safety issues found. Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the disaster zone on Wednesday vowing to investigate its cause, but even after canceling a foreign trip to visit the site, citizens booed him in the streets calling for his resignation.

Now, as families lie in hospital fronts for news of their loved ones, protesters lay symbolic black coffins in front of government buildings, the Turkish word for murderer etched in coal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNAY: Protests are ongoing in cities across Turkey. And today in Istanbul, the police responded in a very heavy-handed way. I think we can show you video once again using water cannons against demonstrators who were angry at this national tragedy, pretty much one year since anti- government protests began in this country. And here we are a year later in days of national mourning and the police still using these kinds of extremely heavy-handed approaches against people who were really coming out to express their anger that such an accident could have been allowed to happen -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, this tragedy has certainly turned into a political test for Prime Minister Erdogan.

Now let's talk about the rescue and the recovery operation underway, Diana. What kind of challenges are workers up against as they try to reach the trapped miners?

MAGNAY: Well, as we talk about this, I'll show you a bit down there. And we'll go to this -- one of the entrances to the mine shaft where you can actually see smoke billowing out.

Inside, deep down in the ground, the fire is still burning and pockets where rescuers try and come to then fill with poisonous gases, which is why there was a long period overnight where they had to stop working. So this is why the process is so difficult.

And we also know a little more about the fact that there were refuge chambers down underground where people are supposed to be able to go should there be a fire or something of that sort. And in one of those rescue chambers, various miners were found last night, all of them not having survived despite their oxygen masks, despite the air refill capabilities.

And when you speak to rescuers now, they say really, yes there are these emergency chambers where people could have found some sort of safety in an airlocked place, but that they really don't hold out any hope that there are survivors at this stage -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Diana Mangay reporting live from the mine disaster site there in Soma, Turkey. Thank you.

And now to Thailand. And as we've mentioned, the army chief has warned protesters against violence. Anti-government demonstrators force the acting prime minister to leave a meeting with members of the election commission.

Now they stormed an air force office compound where the talks were taking place. Earlier, around 2:00 am local time, three people were killed, 23 were wounded, when gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at anti-government protesters there.

Now all of this is raising fears that Thailand is on the edge of even more bloodshed.

Let's bring in Saima Mohsin. She joins me live from Bangkok. And Saima, Thailand's political turmoil there is once against turned very violent and deadly.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kristie. We've seen this violence sporadically over the past few months, but really escalated overnight. We saw government on pickup trucks heading into the democracy monument area, a very famous area of Bangkok where protesters have been camping out for many months now.

They drove into the area. They threw at least three grenades into the protesters and then started shooting rounds. And as you say three people have been killed, at least 23 injured.

Just a short awhile ago I was talking to one of the vendors here. I'm just outside Government House where the main protest stage has now been set up. I was talking to a young man here who said he's moved here because he was petrified last night. He was woken up by those sounds of the grenades. The floor shook. And he looked around and there was chaos everywhere.

Now, the army chief has spoken out about this violence. He sent out a very carefully worded warning saying that if violence escalates, he will be forced to use the strictest full force. People will be dealt with in the strictest manner, Kristie. And of course everyone holds their breath in Thailand when the army chief decides to make a statement, because coups are not uncommon in this part of the world. We've seen the last coup in 2006 when Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a military coup.

So far the military has held back. They haven't made any major statements. But today we've heard that.

And what we believe is, this was really prompted by the protesters this morning who marched up to an air force compound one -- some of those members got into a truck and rammed the gates at the air force compound, bursting inside. And then members of the air force came out in riot gear, blocking the entrance to that compound.

And they were eventually allowed in. There was an election commission meeting going on at the time with the caretaker prime minister that they didn't want to see go ahead -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: The tension has certainly intensified. A caretaker prime minister forced to flee a meeting. Everyone asking the question whether or not the military will be forced to intervene.

Now the bottom line is this, what next? Yingluck Shinawatra, she's been ousted. And yet the political deadlock, it drags on. What is the best way forward for Thailand?

MOHSIN: Well, you know, Kristie, it kind of changes here every single day on where people stand. Now, what we've been hearing is this mantra from the PDRC, the people that are out here tonight on the stage protesting against the current setup and the previous setup that they don't want to see an election go ahead without reform.

We've seen some kind of malleability in that today. Earlier today, Suthep Thausaban, he's the protest leader of the PDRC, was inside the election commission building. We traveled there.

As he came out, I managed to catch up with him. And here's what he had to say to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUTHEP THAUSABAN, OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): I came to tell the election commissioner that we need several changes in the law if we are going to have an election.

For example, regulations covering political parties up to the election process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Now, what he's talking about, Kristie, is he's talking about candidates that have been allowed to stand in election who might have dubious private interests. One of his spokesman said to me, look, some members of parliament are allowed to run brothels or illegal enterprises allegedly, according to them.

Now this counts for both sides, of course. So they're saying, look, there needs to be more stringent checks of candidates.

They also want the election process to be better monitored by the election commission. And interestingly what Suthep Thausaban said as well is we're not opposed to an election. Sure, an election can go ahead, but let the election commission really monitor this carefully.

So what it sounds like now is that there is room for a little bit of maneuver. And I'm sure that perhaps the army chief statement might have had something to do with that, because what the army chief said is please try and deal with this peacefully, legally, under the constitution and without violence, because if I see more violence on the streets I will be forced to intervene -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: So many competing factors at play here. Saima Mohsin reporting live from Bangkok. Thank you, Saima.

Now, Vietnam's prime minister has ordered the ministry of public security to protect foreign companies. It comes after protesters torched more than a dozen factories in southern Vietnam.

Now the violence is blamed on anti-China demonstrators. Now they erupted after Beijing deployed an oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Chinese state media condemned the attack. And the foreign ministry demanded Vietnam to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUA CHUNGYING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN (through translator): It must be pointed out that the recent smashing, trashing, looting and burning in Vietnam directed against Chinese enterprises and their staff is directly connected to Vietnam's recent tolerance of and connivance with domestic anti-Chinese forces and criminals. We call upon Vietnamese government to take real responsibility and to thoroughly investigate and severely punish those troublemakers and provide compensation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Vietnamese authorities say that they have arrested hundreds of people.

Now still to come right here on News Stream. It has been one month since hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped. Now the pressure is mounting on the government to secure their release, but the president is reportedly ruling out any prisoner swap with their captors.

In 2012, the deadly gang rape of an Indian woman on a New Delhi bus shocked the world. So how safe are women in the capital today? We bring you a personal take from our correspondent.

And we'll show you what's left behind in the Syrian city of Homs after three years of civil war. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now pressure is mounting on Nigeria's government to secure the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls one month after they were taken by the militant group Boko Haram.

Now according to media reports, a British official says President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out a prisoner swap with the militants.

Now that was the demand that was made for the release of the girls by the man believed to be the group's leader.

Let's get the latest from Nigeria. Our correspondent Vladimir Duthiers is on the ground in Abuja. He joins me now.

And Vlad, now the United States is using drones and manned surveillance aircraft to find the girls. Tell us, what's the latest on the search.

VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie.

Well, we know that the United States has a team of military officials already on the ground. In fact, they're not far from where we are right now at the United States embassy here in Abuja.

We know that that team is going to eventually grow to about 50 or 60 different experts, experts in surveillance, experts that will be able to provide guidance on intelligence gathering, reconnaissance. And as you mentioned, aerial surveillance of the area where supposedly these girls are being held.

We also know that there are some law enforcement officials on the ground that will be able to advise the Nigerian government on hostage negotiation tactics. Now, that's important, because as you mentioned in the video that was released by Boko Haram with the supposed leader of the group Abubakar Shekau saying that he would be willing to trade some of these girls for what he calls his brothers that are in Nigerian prisons.

We -- here's what the UK minister for African affairs had to say after having had a conversation with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Take a listen, Kristie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK SIMMONDS, BRITISH AFRICA MINISTER: The president and I discussed this in some detail. And the president made very clear to me that he wasn't prepared to negotiate with Boko Haram for the exchange of the abducted girls and prisoners.

But what he also made very clear to me is that he wanted his government to continue a dialogue to make sure that a solution could be found and that security and stability could return to northern Nigeria for the medium and the long-term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUTHIERS: So, there you have it, Kristie. Not willing to negotiate with Boko Haram, but other -- keeping other options on the table, although it's not very clear how that would play out, because we have spoken to many people in Borno State, in Chibok, including the governor of Borno State and there's a very strong belief that these girls are being held in the Sambisa forest, which is not far from Chibok, which borders Cameroon.

Now any kind of military offensive operation to try and rescue these girls would probably end in disaster. In the past, Nigerian air force has bombed these enclaves. Not possible now with hostages on the ground. So we'll just have to sort of wait and see what the next steps are going forward, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Vlad, we appreciate the regular updates on the situation there. Vladimir Duthiers reporting live from Abuja, Nigeria.

Now the World Health Organization says that the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is becoming more serious and more urgent. MERS is now been confirmed in some 18 countries.

Now the virus can be transmitted by infected people through close contact and is fatal in a quarter of cases.

Now Brian Todd looks at what is being done in the U.S. and elsewhere to contain this deadly virus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The concern about this potentially fatal virus has significantly increase, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials say hundreds of people may have been exposed to the MERS virus by flying on planes within the United States with two MERS patients who are now in Florida and Indiana.

They're both health care workers who came to the U.S. after being infected in Saudi Arabia.

One woman who flew on the same flight as a sick MERS patient told CNN affiliate WKMG she was informed by her state health agency of her potential exposure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They informed me that there was a confirmed case of the MERS virus from my flight from Atlanta to Orlando. I was really scared.

TODD: The woman says neither she nor her husband have symptoms of MERS.

The two MERS patients confirmed in the U.S. are reported to be getting better.

But what if someone with MERS got out into a major city? Experts say it does take sustained close contact with a patient to get it. But they also say MERS, like SARS, is worrisome.

PROF. STEPHEN MORSE, INFECTIONS DISEASE SPECIALIST, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: With SARS, it spread so far, because people carrying the disease from Asia went to many different parts of the world. And unfortunately when they got sick and went into hospitals or were being taken care of by family members, they were able to infect people who were at close range.

TODD: Is this a line of defense? A thermal imaging camera is used to try to detect elevated body temperatures, high fevers potentially associated with MERS. It was used at a conference attended by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Saudi Arabia where MERS originated.

Similar devices are being used at airports in Asia and the Middle East.

DAVID BURSELL, FLIR SYSTEMS INC: It's displayed on our camera as a colorized image. And in this particular image, we see cold areas that are black, blue to medium areas that are purple to orange and then the warmer or higher temperature areas being yellow to white.

TODD: Can these cameras spot MERS?

DR. MARTIN CETRON, U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION: They can't diagnose MERS with a fever scanner. The probability that someone with a fever actually has MERS versus the numerable other things that they could have make it a very impractical tool in this current setting.

TODD: And, health officials say, some people who really have MERS could go undetected by a scanner, because some may not have fevers yet. The incubation period for MERS is 2 to 14 days, so the World Health Organization says it's not recommending that agencies use thermal imaging scanners.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now India was shaken by the deadly gang rape of a student back in 2012, but how safe is New Delhi for women today? After the break, we take a look at how that horrific event mobilized many to take a stand and demand change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

In India, public awareness about violence against women has grown in the wake of a brutal attack nearly two years ago on a woman riding a bus in New Delhi. The woman later died of her injuries and it provoked outrage worldwide.

Now Sumnima Udas looks at New Delhi today and shows us how that attack has forever changed the city and perhaps the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: People often ask if I feel safe living in New Delhi. This vibrant city of 23 million now perceived by many as the rape capital after the deadly gang rape of a student inside a moving bus in December 2012.

The gawking, the groping, there is no doubt walking around in this sprawling capital, taking public transportation is not easy. From a very young age, women are taught to be cautious.

But the notion that there's a culture of rape in India is simplistic and unjustified. No culture is innately prone to rape.

In fact, India ranks behind the United States and Europe in the total number of rapes reports, even though India has more people than both of those places combined.

Of course, women in all cultures often don't report rape, that's what's changing here.

December 16, 2012 was the tipping point.

Hundreds of Delhi students have gathered...

Day by day the protest swells from hundreds to thousands to tens of thousands, marching towards India's seat of power, braving water cannons and New Delhi's December cold. This was the watershed moment for women in India.

Laws were strengthened, security stepped up, fast track courts set up to deal with sexual assault cases.

And this is one of the rarest of rare occasions.

Women now more emboldened to report cases of rape, authorities, too, more responsive. But perhaps the biggest change, rape has become a part of routine discourse.

Open any newspaper on any given day, stories of rape, which would not even get a mention in newspapers in the U.S. or UK make headlines here.

Many say the change that's needed is cultural. This greater awareness in Indian society perhaps the 2012 rape victim's lasting legacy.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And we'll have special coverage of India's election right here on CNN in just a few hours. Becky Anderson is in New Delhi to host special editions of Connect the World. That starts in about two-and-a-half hours from now, 8:30 p.m. in New Delhi.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still ahead on the program, as Syrian residents return to Homs, a secret network is discovered underground. Frederik Pleitgen takes us there next.

And as the United States imposes more sanctions over the Ukrainian crisis, Russia is pushing its retaliation to new heights, literally. We'll have more on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now Turkish labor unions have called for a nationwide strike to protest what they say are poor safety standards for the mining industry. At least 282 people are confirmed dead after an explosion and fire at a coal mine in Soma in western Turkey. 88 people were rescued on Tuesday, but dozens are still missing.

Now the head of Thailand's army is warning protesters to avoid violence or prepare for military intervention. Now three people were killed and 23 others were wounded overnight when gunmen opened fire on anti-government protesters. In a separate incident later, a crowd stormed an air force compound forcing the caretaker prime minister to flee.

The captain of three of the crew members on that ferry that sank in South Korea have been charged with murder. And they could be sentenced to death if found guilty. Now more than 280 people died when the ferry went down a month ago.

In Southern California, thousands of people have been forced to evacuate under the threat of multiple wildfires. Now fire crews are working to contain fires that have burned more than 3,500 hectares so far. Now drought and extremely hot temperatures in the state helped spread the flames.

Three years of civil war have transformed the Syrian City of Homs into an urban battleground.

Now rebels holed up in the old city turned apartments into command centers. And now that the rebels have left, Frederik Pleitgen shows us this intricate supply chain that's been discovered under the living rooms of many homes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what the battle for Homs looked like for a very long time. The rebels, besieged in the old town, with government forces shelling the area.

Now that the fight is over, at least for the time being, and the opposition fighters have left, the Syrian army is discovering their supply routes. An elaborate network of tunnels, the entrances mostly in residential buildings.

"The tunnels were very important for them," this soldier tells me. "This is how they got weapons and ammunition in here."

The Syrian military has begun sweeping the area. Soldiers tell us they were surprised at the amount of tunnels they found.

This isn't one of the most sophisticated tunnels around here, it's not very high, it's also not very well constructed, but the rebels used many tunnels just like this one here in the old town of Homs to get around, especially in the end phase of the siege. They would move around with these tunnels and also use them to get resupplied.

The Syrian army also showed us what it says was a rebel weapons factory with bag loads of chemicals and equipment to mix them.

Next door, the finished products -- shells, mortars and grenades of all sizes.

"You see all of these have the word ready written on them," the soldier says. "We found a lot more, but most have already been taken out of the building."

And the army is still busy clearing the old town of Homs of leftover bombs and other weapons, more and more civilians are also coming back to the district. But some complain to us that many looters are also here taking things from abandoned houses.

"So many people came here who are not even from this area," this man says. "And they just load their bikes and cars full of stuff and leave. You can see them everywhere."

Syrian soldiers we spoke to off camera also confirmed the reports of looting. They said access to the area should have been restricted to allow only residents in. Now, they say, it's virtually impossible for them to control all those walking the streets of this former battleground.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Homs, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now the trial of three Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt has been adjourned again. The men are charged with defamation and aiding the black listed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Now they have been held in Egyptian jail since December 29. And the trial is set to resume again on May 22.

And while those journalists stand trial, another of their peers who has been detained in Egypt is on a hunger strike.

Now let's go live to Reza Sayah. He joins us from Cairo. And Reza, we have video now of this journalist in detention. What does that footage show us?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the video of Abdullah ElShamy (ph) is a reminder that what's happening here in Egypt is not just about these three Al Jazeera journalists, that there's thousands of other Egyptians, many of them pro-democracy activists, many of them journalists who are in custody detained without charge, without being convicted.

Abdullah ElShamy (ph) was a reporter for the Arab Al Jazeera network. He was arrested back in August of 2013. Somehow, he was able to get someone to shoot video of him inside prison. He's been on hunger strike for 106 days now. Somehow that video was leaked out and posted on social media. Here's some of what Abdullah ElShamy (ph) had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDULLAH ELSHAMY, JOURNALIST DETAINED IN EGYPT: I was doing my job as a reporter. And despite the authorities knowing this, I have been detained for 266 days without any charge and without committing any crime.

I record this media after I have reached 106 days of my hunger strike to hold the Egyptian government, the Egyptian judiciary and the general (inaudible) my responsibility if anything ever happens to me. I have requested several medical checkups from independent sources and yet this has not been provided.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Detained Al Jazeera journalist Abdullah ElShamy, he's been in custody since August 2013 remember without being charged. He is now reportedly in solitary confinement allegedly as punishment for that video statement.

Kristie, we should also point out that we saw his wife yesterday. She's also on a hunger strike now, so weak that she was in a wheelchair here in Tora prison trying to visit her husband.

LU STOUT: They're on a hunger strike to drive attention to their plight, this ongoing detention of that Al Jazeera journalist.

Meanwhile, we have the trial against the three Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt, that has been adjourned today. It will reconvene on May 22. All of this has been called an attack on freedom of speech.

Now Reza, what is the status of free speech there in Egypt?

SAYAH: Well, if you ask authorities here in Egypt, they'll tell you there is freedom of speech, but when you look at this trial, for example, when you look at thousands of people who are in custody without being charged, without a conviction -- rights groups say that freedom of speech is being stifled on.

If you talk about this trial today, for example, we've been eager to see during these three months if the prosecution has any evidence linking these individuals to any crime or terrorist activity. And by any measure, that hasn't happened yet. Instead, what we keep seeing is these bizarre and baffling developments that suggest that the prosecution has absolutely no case.

Today, for example, there was two hours of disputing between lawyers on the subject of fees for evidence. The only thing the prosecution has showed in this trial is seemingly irrelevant video clips of news reports and personal pictures. The defense wants to see these items, which actually belong to the defendants. The prosecution is allegedly looking to charge the equivalent of $140,000. That's what they argued about today.

139 days, that's how long these three journalists have been in there. We saw them yesterday. They want out. But they're uncertain, like many other people, where this trial is going, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Reza Sayah joining us live from Cairo. Many thanks indeed for that update.

Now the crisis in Ukraine has increased tensions between Russia and the United States. And now the Rhetoric is reaching new heights, namely over the International Space Station.

Now Russia's deputy prime minister says his country will abandon the ISS after the year 2020. Jim Sciutto explores what it could mean for the U.S. space program.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were all smiles in the International Space Station this week, but could this be one of the last times that American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts journey together through space?

Russian officials are taking the battle over Ukraine into orbit, vowing to abandon the space station four years early in 2020 and banning Russian-made rocket engines to launch U.S. military satellites. The deputy prime minister even suggested astronauts instead use a trampoline.

And this is no small problem, because since NASA retired the shuttle in 2011, American astronauts have no other way up or down than hitching rides on Russian rockets.

JIM LEWIS, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNAITONAL STUDIES: The Russian announcement really means we need to rethink our reliance on them because it shows we are dependent on them in ways that might have made sense ten years ago but doesn't make sense anymore.

SCIUTTO: The U.S.-Russian space partnership has thrived for decades, one of the most visible symbols of detente during the Cold War and the new peace after the fall of the Soviet Union. And it was very much a win-win: the U.S. saved billions on the shuttle. Russian made billions as a high- tech taxi service.

U.S. officials express hope the Russian threat is just bluster.

JEN PSAKI, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We've had a long cooperation on our space program with the Russians and we're hopeful that will continue. We still continue to cooperate on a range of issues.

SCIUTTO: It's most likely the U.S. will depend on private space companies such as SpaceX to develop new space vehicles to transport American astronauts to the space station. And as for Russian engines used to launch American satellites, the U.S. has stockpiled engines, that supply good for about two years of launches. That has some coverage, but many believe that NASA and Washington really need to develop a more reliable, longer term plan.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And if you're wondering, the next launch to ISS is slated for May 28. NASA says it has not received any official notification of any changes.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, firefighters are working around the clock to battle fierce wildfires ripping through southern California. We'll give you an update on the situation there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now in southern California, devastating wildfires are tearing through thousands of hectares of land. Fast moving fires have forced tens of thousands of evacuation notices in San Diego County.

With more, here's Akiko Fujita.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AKIKO FUJITA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Breaking overnight: at least nine fires now spreading rapidly, erupting one right after another, already destroying dozens of homes.

You can hear the roar of massive flames engulfing close to 10,000 acres across San Diego County, the governor declaring a state of emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing mandatory evacuations.

FUJITA: Tens of thousands now fleeing their homes in jeopardy. Even Legoland, one of the county's popular amusement parks, forced to close along with the university campus, a nuclear power plant in Camp Pendleton, one of the largest military training bases, partially evacuated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have erratic winds, we have low humidity down into the single digits.

FUJITA: Attacking the blazes from the air and on the ground, thousands of firefighters working around the clock, stunted by 100- degree heat and wind gusts close to 30 miles an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wind can change and all of a sudden it just seems like we're going to be safe and we're not so we just packed everything and we're out of there.

FUJITA: The unpredictable winds producing terrifying fire tornadoes like this one. Just watch the spinning vortex caused by intersecting wind patterns, scattering fire debris, further complicating efforts to douse the flames.

The blazes so out of control, the military now intervening, battling the infernos with seven tankers and over 20 aircrafts including a DC- 10 plane mounted with tanks that can hold up to 50 tons of water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're getting help. But the fight is far from over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Akiko Fujita reporting there.

Now this part of southern California has been suffering through a drought and soaring temperatures extremely high this early in the year.

Now the major fires are burning north of the city of San Diego. In the coastal city of Carlsbad, almost 23,000 evacuation notices were issued. And the famous theme park Lego Land had to be evacuated when fires caused power outages there.

Now if you go further up the coast, now precautionary evacuations had been ordered at the San Onofre, a nuclear power plant. It has been offline for about two years. And for now, authorities say there is no safety threat.

Now let's get the latest on these fast moving fires. Mari Ramos is tracking the situation. She joins us from the world weather center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Really scary images there in that report from Akiko, amazing. And unfortunately more of the same is in store for the day today.

The stronger winds usually tend to happen in the early morning hours, right around this time, around sunrise local time there. And pictures like this are going to be much more common throughout the day today.

Now let's go ahead and start kind of from the beginning. When we look at an average year in California, normally we see the higher threat for fires come in the late part of the summer -- July, August and into September, then it begins to come down again in November. But this is where we are now, Kristie. This year already it feels like we were already at the peak of the summer.

And there's a lot of factors that are coming in together, too -- that are coming together, I should say, to make this situation so bad and so serious as what we've been reporting for the last few days and weeks.

Now the first thing is the drought. Think of it this way, here are the levels -- moderate, several ,extreme and exceptional. Almost a full 25 percent of the state is in exceptional drought. That could include this area here of central California.

But think of it this way, 100 percent of the state is in some sort of drought. That's significant enough. In this area of southern California is in extreme drought, which makes the situation, of course, much more worse. The ground is very dry. There's a lot of tinder that can burn very easily. And you have the problems, of course, with the terrain that makes the situation even worse.

The other thing that's contributing right now is the actual weather pattern that's in place.

We have an area of high pressure to the north, an area of low pressure to the south. The confluence of these winds right over here shift the normal wind patterns across parts of southern California and California overall, but we're talking about southern California this time around.

Normally, you would have the winds coming from the ocean to the land and that keeps a lot of moisture in the air, it keeps temperatures fairly nice and constant with that very nice climate. But when it changes like this, temperatures shoot up very, very quickly.

It's called Santa Ana winds here in southern California, because the winds pass through the Santa Ana Mountain Range. When it passes through there it's almost like when you are in between buildings in a downtown area, for example, between high rises when it's windy and you step in between the buildings the wind is a lot stronger, almost that same kind of situation.

As the wind passes through the canyons between the mountains, it goes -- it increases in speed. So we could see winds gusting to as much as 100 kilometers per hour throughout the day today.

The other things is, because -- as the wind descends from the mountain, it heats up. So it adds to the heat factor across these areas. The problem is significant. Wind -- low relative humidity and that offshore flow will keep the fire threat across this area throughout the day today.

And you mentioned the temperatures, San Diego at 34 degrees, that's a record high. L.A. was at 37 degrees. The average in L.A. is 23. So that shows you also this huge increase of temperatures that we're having across the area in comparison to the eastern side of the U.S. where temperatures are actually below average for this time of year.

Very quickly with my last 30 seconds. This is a picture from Sarajevo, serious situation with flooding happening here. Much too much rain. Reuters is reporting the worst rain in 120 years, since they've been keeping records in this part of the world.

We are starting to see the light, so to speak, at the end of the tunnel, even though we could see another 50 millimeters of rain in Sarajevo and areas to the north maybe another 80 millimeters of rainfall. This area of low pressure slowly raining itself out. It should begin to get a little bit dryer as we head through the next two days. The possibility of severe weather and flooding still remains across this region, Kristie. This will be something else that we will continue to watch very, very carefully.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: All right, Mari Ramos there. Thank you.

Now 18 films are in the running for this year's Palm d'Or, it's the top prize at Cannes, of course, one of the world's most glamorous film festivals. And to kick things off, organizers chose a film that may have been a little bit too close to home. Mylene Klass has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MYLEENE KLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Opening night provided many of the essential ingredients which contribute to the character of Cannes -- famous faces on the red carpet and a controversial movie with a French connection to kick things off.

NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: Some of you ask why did I leave Hollywood? Well, I left because I fell in love with a charming prince.

KLASS: Nicole Kidman's portrayal of actress turned princess Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco had not been well received further along the Cote d'Azur. At a press conference overlooked by the imposing image of Italian auteur Federico Fellini, Kidman was asked for her response to the royal family's expressions of dismay.

KIDMAN: Obviously, I feel sad, because I think that film has no malice towards the family or towards particularly towards Grace of Rainier. I mean, it's fictionalized obviously. We've said that. It's not a bio pic. There's the essence of truth, but as with a lot of these things you - - you take dramatic license at times.

But I understand also because of them being -- it's their mother and father.

KIDMAN: ...any excuse to take Monaco, even if it means turning you against me?

KLASS: The director assured the media that the much documented creative differences with the film's U.S. distributor had now been resolved.

Some critics were less easily pacified, savaging the film's more melodramatic moments while others singled out Kidman's performance for praise.

By the time the red carpet was ready to be trampled, the smiles were all back in place to the delight of the paparazzi who were treated to a vintage movie star moment with Kidman's dazzling dress.

Gautier, she was here with a juror. This year, the duty to chose the winner of the coveted Palm d'Or falls to a team, including Willem Defoe and Sofia Coppola, lead by New Zealand director James (inaudible).

As on 66 previous occasions, Cannes will become the center of the movie world for the next 10 days as handshakes seal multimillion dollar deals amid parties on yachts and beaches and the waves of the Mediterranean continue to lap the shore just as they have always done.

Myleene Klass, CNN, Cannes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, an incredible video of man's best friend. But the dog is not the hero in this story. We'll show you more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now dogs, usually known as man's best friend, but one little boy in California will be forever grateful to the family cat for coming to his rescue. As Jeanne Moos explains, his feline friend saved him from a serious dog attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember how Lassie always used to rescue Timmy? Well this time, it was a cat that saved 4-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo from a...

JEREMY TRIANTAFILO, BOY: ...mean dog.

MOOS: This mean dog, a Labrador Chow mix, that had managed to slip out of its fenced-in property when a gate was open. Jeremy was playing on his bicycle while his mom was watering plants nearby, then the dog leaped on Jeremy, dragging him by the leg. That's when the cat pounced and the dog ran away.

It was over in an instant.

ERIKA TRIANTAFILO, MOTHER: Before I could even get there, my cat clobbered him. She saved the day.

MOOS: Soon, everyone was calling Tara the cat a hero, including Jeremy, who is mildly autistic.

JEREMY TRIANTAFILO: Yeah, she's a hero.

MOOS: A hero trying to escape the limelight.

ERIKA TRIANTAFILO: Is Tara a nice cat?

JEREMY TRIANTAFILO: Oh, oops. She jumped.

Stay here.

MOOS: Tara has lived with the Triantafilos since before Jeremy was born. The fearless counterattack adds a new dimension to the dog-versus- cat debate. Sure there are affectionate cats, capable even of hugging, but dogs usually win in that department. But a feline that dares to pounce on a much bigger, aggressive dog? Even dog lovers have to tip their hat to that cat.

Today, my respect has gone up for all cat kind, or as an apparent cat lover put it, cats rules, dogs drool.

The not-so-happy part of the story is what is to become of the dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That dog is a goner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This dog is probably doomed.

MOOS: Bakersfield, California Animal Control confirms that the decision has been made to euthanize the eight-month-old dog.

Jeremy required 10 stitches. His mom says even if she'd managed to get to her son before the cat, she could never have gotten the dog off so effectively.

ERIKA TRIANTAFILO: There's no animal finer than her.

MOOS: With her bravado, Tara rivals legends like Puss 'N' Boots.

ANTONIO BANDERAS, ACTOR: Put up your dooks.

MOOS: This puss gave the dog the boot.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I'm still a dog person, but respect.

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

END