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FIFA President: Awarding Qatar World Cup Was a Mistake; Celebrations Across India as BJP Party Wins Unprecedented Victory; Pro-Kiev Activists Flee To Abandoned Yanukovych Palace For Protection; Two Teens Taken Into Custody Over Suspicion Of Starting Fires In Southern California; Hong Kong Activists Fight Against Ivory Trade

Aired May 16, 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 wild celebrations across India as Narendra Modi's BJP looks set to sweep to power.

FIFA's president says it was a mistake to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

And, we speak to someone leading the fight against illegal ivory right here in Hong Kong.

The votes are still being counted, but it appears India has spoken. Narendra Modi looks set to take the reigns as prime minister and what some expect to be the biggest election victory the country has seen in 30 years.

Now Modi's BJP party supporters and India's stock market are riding high in what appears to be a landslide win.

Now Modi has big plans to shakeup India's economy and its bureaucracy.

But first, the leader-to-be sought some sage advice from his 95-year- old mother.

Now Mallika Kapur is in New Delhi. She joins us now live with the very latest. And Mallika, this is looking like a very, very big win for the BJP.

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kristie. It is a historic day in India. You know, people did expect the BJP to win, but I can safely say that nobody expected to see such a landslide. What a mandate. The BJP has enough of a majority to comfortably form the lower house of parliament on its own without getting into a coalition with any other parties.

We haven't seen such a huge mandate delivered to any party in India since 1984. It really is a remarkable day and unprecedented day here in India, a day that's definitely going to go down in history as a watershed in India. It's a day that's going to usher in great political and economic change, days of celebrations across India outside the BJP headquarters. And the man of the moment very much Narendra Modi.

Of course he is quite a controversial figure here in India. People either love him or hate him, but there's absolutely no denying he is the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party and now the face of India's future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAPUR: Modi mania sweeps India. The tea seller turned politician turned prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi works the crowds at election rallies.

He promises voters he'll fix the economy. Since becoming chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2001, the economy there has grown rapidly at around 10 percent a year, that's faster than China.

Gujarat is seen as investor friendly, industrialized and export focused.

India's largest conglomerate, the Tata Group, moved its Nano car plant out of another state and into Gujarat four years ago. The former chairman of the company credited the chief minister with helping make that happen.

RATAN TATA, FRM. CHAIRMAN, TATA GROUP: He delivered in three days what other states, which were also trying to woo us could only offer their best endeavors to do with no side deals, no quid pro quos...

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, GPS: No bribe.

TATA: No, none whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leadership is very important.

KAPUR: There's no better place to do business, say these entrepreneurs who have been in Gujarat for 20 years.

JIGNESH DESAI, NJ INDIA INVEST: (inaudible) is the key for any economic development. So in Gujarat, if you look at the quality of the roads are extremely well. Apart from roads, if you look at power, there's no power cut.

KAPUR: Dubbed the Gujarat model of development, Modi says he'll replicate it across India if he becomes prime minister.

RAMESH MENON, AUTHOR: I think it's the model of governance. Modi is a good administrator in the sense that he's very strict. And because he is very strict, he ensures that the administration works.

KAPUR: But there's another side to Modi, According to some, a very dark side.

In 2002, more than 1,000 people, the vast majority of them Muslims, were killed in Gujarat during religious riots. One of them was a member of the Congress Party, Essan Jafri (ph), Zakia's (ph) husband.

"They dragged my husband out from a house," she says, "humiliated him, hacked him to death piece by piece. That morning was the last time I saw him."

An Indian supreme court ordered investigation absolved Modi of blame in the riots. Still, he remains a controversial figure, even denied a visa to enter the United States.

After the court ruling last year, Modi expressed regret for the 2002 rioting. But many criticized him for not apologizing.

Zakia (ph) is appealing the supreme court decision.

"If not him, then who is responsible?" Asks Zakia (ph). "Modi was in charge at that time."

As prime minister of India, few doubt Modi will be a decisive leader. Many fear, he will also be divisive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAPUR: And there's a victory rally for Narendra Modi this evening in his home state of Gujarat. He is expected to travel here to Delhi tomorrow. And we are, we believe that the current prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh will officially tender his resignation tomorrow paving the way for Narendra Modi to be sworn in early next week -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Let's talk more about the exiting prime minister, Manmohan Singh. What do you think will be the legacy of him and his two term government?

KAPUR: Well, there is a lot of discussion about that here in India at the moment, as you can imagine. And there are two schools of thought. If you look at the last five years that his government has been in power, people will say, well, you know there really isn't much to write home about. He has sat over a government that's been criticized for having policy paralysis, very little has gotten done. There have been a series of corruption scandals that have shaken the foundations of the government that's made the public lose confidence and lose confidence in the government.

So it's been one scandal after another.

But when you take a step back and you look at the big picture, the larger story of Manmohan Singh, we have to remember his earlier tenure in the early 1990s when he was finance minister of India. And that's really when he showed India what a brilliant economist he is. He is the man who is single-handedly credited for opening up India's economy for economic liberalization.

And the whole theory is that when you take a holistic view of Manmohan Singh that that comes into the picture. And he will be remembered for opening up India's economy. He's widely considered the architect of India's economic liberalization.

LU STOUT: Thank you for pointing that out and reminding us of his tenure as finance minister of India.

Mallika Kapur reporting live from New Delhi, thank you.

Now this has been the world's biggest selection ever. And the sheer scale of the task, it made for some pretty daunting logistics.

Now the Indian voting poll was larger than the populations of the United States and western Europe combined. Some 814 million people were eligible to vote. It's estimated more than 66 percent, or some 550 million, actually turned out.

Now there were 930,000 polling stations with 1.8 million electronic voting machines.

Now the vastness of the country meant voting had to be held in nine phases over five weeks, that began on April 7. It all comes down to today's vote counting and results.

Now turning now to Turkey where victims of Tuesday's devastating mine disaster are being buried in the western town of Soma. The energy minister confirms 284 people are dead in the explosion and fire that rocked the mine on Tuesday. And hope is fading that any more miners will be found alive. It believed 18 may still be trapped below.

Meanwhile, this photo has outraged many already angry at the government's response to the tragedy. It shows one of prime minister Erdogan's advisers kicking a protester at the mine site.

Now Turkish media report that the aid has since apologized for losing his temper amid what he called provocation and insults.

Now CNN's Diana Magnay has been covering the disaster. She joins me live from the mine site in Soma, Turkey. And Diana, tell us more about how Turkish officials are defending their response to the mine disaster.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start first of all with the fact that this mine was privatized a few years back. So the government's response has been rather peculiar in terms of how this is a national tragedy and you would expect a prime minister to offer his condolences and to really show a sincere sorrow for what has taken place here. And instead he talked about the fact that this was really par for the course in mining and that it was not an accident prone industry.

And then you spoke of that photograph, which has caused such outrage here and interantionally where an aid of Prime Minister Erdogan kicked a protester. And then we have video also which has been causing significant ripples in the Turkish media of Mr. Erdogan in a super market where he appears to put his arm around a miner's neck and then the miner is transported off and kicked and wrestled to the floor, again by security personnel. This is not the kind of behavior that you expect from a prime minister to show and express his sorrow and share in the grief of the people in this country.

So the official response has been extremely peculiar and in a way a symbol of the increasingly autocratic rule of this government, especially one year, almost, after the anti-government protests began in Gezi Park in Istanbul.

The approach of the police has consistently been heavy-handed.

And let's look at the company itself, which held a press conference just a few hours ago. They said that they did not consider themselves to have behaved in a negligent fashion towards their miners. They spoke about the safety procedures that they had in place. And apparently they didn't have any kind of refuge chambers accessible for the miners, which is standard practice, really, across most of the industrialized world and in mining areas. And that was because in the lower areas of the mine where the workers were working now, they were busily constructing a safety chamber, but it wasn't ready yet. And they said that legally, in any case, they weren't obliged to build that kind of a chamber.

So the official response has been surprising both from the government side and from the company -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Both the mine operator and the government on the defensive in the aftermath of this tragedy.

Now, can you describe the scene outside the mine behind you? Are there still rescue workers, recovery workers? Are there people holding vigil, holding out hope that the rescuers could possibly reach the trapped miners?

MAGNAY: Well, we were just talking to people down there. And there are so many more rescue workers than there are relatives holding out hope. The energy minister said earlier today that the death toll now is 284, that 18 are missing. He expects the death toll to reach 302, i.e. that the people who are trapped inside are no longer living. And this is no surprise, really, when you consider that the last survivors pulled out, were really within the first 24 hours since the fire broke out on Tuesday.

So the people down there are really looking more for closure than they are for any good news out of the mine.

But the operation still goes on. It seems to be very slow moving, obviously very difficult to get down to these very low reaches, because of the fire, which does not appear to have been extinguished yet. And the poisonous gases, the carbon monoxide and dioxide, which it omits.

And so the work is slow and laborious. There was one body pulled out earlier today, but it is an ongoing process and certainly the groups of relatives down there who were even allowed down close to the mine are very small at this stage -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Diana Magnay reporting live from Soma. Thank you.

Now news just coming into us right here on CNN, there are reports of multiple explosions in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Four people were killed and several injured after at least two blasts hit a market in the heart of the city, this is according to Kenyan authorities. Now those injured have apparently been evacuated by the Red Cross.

Now commerce ministers from China and Vietnam are meeting to discuss this week's anti-China violence in southern Vietnam. Now the demonstrations started after Beijing deployed an oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Now Chinese ships are continuing to prevent Vietnamese vessels from getting near the rig.

Now China's chief military officer says Beijing will not back down. His comments came during a visit to the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. FANG FENGHUI, CHINESE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY: We do not make trouble. We do not create trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. In matters, issues, relates -- that relate to sovereignty, territorial integrity, we -- our attitude has been firm. We -- we can fulfill what we have said. And I want to underscore finally that for the territory, which has passed down by our ancestors into the hands of our generation, we cannot afford to lose an inch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now China also blames the United States for the unrest, pointing to Washington's pivot to Asia as a source of encouragement for provocative actions.

Now the United States has urged all sides to resolve the disputes diplomatically. And remember China has been competing, or has competing territorial claims with several of its neighbors. And these waters, they're believed to be rich in resources.

Meanwhile, protesters in the Philippines say Beijing must stop escalating tensions at sea. Now the demonstration outside the Chinese consulate, though, it remained peaceful.

You are watching News Stream. And still to come, a bitter homecoming for residents of a rebel stronghold in Syria. This family in Homs finds nothing left of their former lives.

Plus, FIFA President Sepp Blatter calls the Qatar World Cup a mistake. Will the tournament take place in winter instead?

And California fights to contain unruly wildfires, but the wind is spawning fire tornadoes as funnels of flames that look just like tornadoes. We'll explain how they form up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now a Syrian opposition group says 29 people were killed by a car bomb near the Turkish border on Thursday. Now meanwhile, people who fled the former rebel stronghold of Homs are still returning.

Now Fred Pleitgen tells us there was heartbreak waiting for many of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cleanup crews are just starting to clear the debris in the old town of Homs. In this scene of utter devastation, residents are returning only to find their homes destroyed.

Nadia Obeid, a Syria Christian, shows me the house she owns, several apartments and a beauty parlor ransacked and burned out.

NADIA OBEID, RETURNING RESIDENT: For 17 years I'm working too hard to build it, yes.

PLEITGEN: Nadia, her husband George and their three kids were forced to flee when the fighting kicked off here. They say rebel fighters used the building and ruined the interior.

Daughter Ameera is devastated as she tries to find at least some of her belongings in this mess in her room.

AMEERA OBEID, RETURNING RESIDENT: Only a few things. There's nothing here. (inaudible).

PLEITGEN: This area was held by rebel fighters for about two years while the Syrian military pounded it from the outside. Since the troops that saw the evacuation of the rebels, those who fled can come back.

People here in the old town of Homs are trying to save as many of their belongings as they can, but honestly what are you going to salvage out of something like this? There are so many here who have lost virtually everything they have. And they know there's going to be very little help as they try to rebuild.

Still, the governor of Homs says now that the battle is over, it's time for reconciliation.

"Now is the time for all people to come together," he tells me. "And we want to tell those who fought against the government to come back. This is your town as well."

But back at Nadia's home, we find things aren't quite so simple.

For Muslims and Christians, can they still live together here?

OBEID: I don't think.

PLEITGEN: Why?

OBEID: I don't think, because (inaudible) suffered -- Muslims are suffering and Christians are suffering. And the different feeling we have that you are suffering from them and they are suffering from us.

PLEITGEN: For now, Nadia and her family are too busy cleaning up their apartment to think about vengeance. But it's clear even as the people of Homs work on repairing the physical damage, the social fabric of this town will need much longer to heal.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Homs, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Another powerful report there from Fred Pleitgen.

Now FIFA's president says awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a mistake.

Now FIFA has been under intense criticism for awarding one of the world's biggest sporting events to a country with searing summer heat.

Now here is what Sepp Blatter told a Swiss TV channel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEPP BLATTER, FIFA PRESIDENT (through translator): Yes, it is a mistake. You know there are many mistakes in life. It was clearly shown in a study of Qatar that the temperatures would be too hot in summer. The situation did not stop FIFA executive committee with a majority vote from deciding that the World Cup should be played in Qatar.

Now Blatter added that the World Cup should be played in winter, but the heat isn't the only reason FIFA has been criticized for giving the tournament to Qatar. Now the country's controversial labor practices have also been in the spotlight. As thousands of migrant workers build the stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup, rights groups allege that they're doing so in inhumane conditions. They claim that hundreds of workers are dying in Qatar.

Right now migrant workers even need their employer's permission if they want to leave the country or change jobs.

But Qatar says it will change that law and some others in an effort to improve conditions for the workers.

Now the next World Cup is set to kick off in Brazil in less than a month, but FIFA is facing problems there as well. Violence protests are threatening to derail the tournament.

Now Shasta Darlington witnessed some of the violence in Sao Paulo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of people have hit the streets across Brazil on Thursday in a series of protests against the World Cup as well as strikes and marches aimed at a government that people say has spent way too much money on a sporting event and not enough on everything from salaries to hospitals.

Now this evening what we've seen are big signs saying, "FIFA go home." And this just caps off tons of events around the country.

Police strike in Racite (ph), also a World Cup city, that has left the city vulnerable to crime and looting. But here in Sao Paulo, 5,000 teachers took to the streets to ask for higher wages.

Now another group demanding low income housing also blocked main avenues and marched all the way to the arena Sao Paulo, which is where the inaugural game of the World Cup will be played on June 12 -- Brazil against Croatia. And they, like everyone here, says they're going to be back out on the streets every week until the end of the World Cup.

They'd been marching peacefully for just a couple of blocks when the whole scene exploded. Look like this is how it's going to end tonight with hundreds of riot police on one side and some pretty angry protesters here.

Police shot tear gas, protesters threw stones, and we saw them vandalizing a car dealership -- a violent end to a day of mostly peaceful protests and likely a sign of more to come.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Incredible. And all of that caught on camera.

You're watching News Stream.

And still to come, pro-Kiev activists are fleeing their homes to seek refuge in a symbol of government excess. We'll bring you the story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now a new UN report warns that pro-Kiev activists in eastern Ukraine are increasingly becoming targets of human rights abuse. Now the report says pro-Russia forces repeatedly attacked peaceful demonstrators.

Now the Russian foreign ministry says the report has blatant discrepancies and is not objective.

Erin McLaughlin follows some frightened protesters who have fled to a most unlikely place for safety -- the deserted residents of the ousted Ukrainian president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Viktor Yanukovych left this palace behind when he fled the country for Russia. Its opulence, Bentleys, bells and ostriches. Soon overrun with protesters became a symbol of the fallen government's excess.

ALEXY LIPOVETSKIY, KIEV SUPPORTER

: I don't want to live in Russia. I want to live in Ukraine.

MCLAUGHLIN: This is who lives there now. Alexei Lepovesky (ph) was a pro-Ukrainian activist in Luhansk, a city now in the control of separatists.

He says he remembers the day everything changed, March 9. He posted this video on his website showing pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian camps clashing.

LIPOVETSKIY: I want to build democracy in my country, in my city.

MCLAUGHLIN: His activism was met with death threats that said.

LIPOVETSKIY: I will kill you, Bendera (ph). Bullet in your head.

MCLAUGHLIN: He fled the city two weeks ago and moved into Yanukovych's old servant quarters now home to 25 people who fled the violence in eastern Ukraine and the situation in Crimea. And there are more on the way.

Down the hall lives Svetlana. When the separatists' bullets got too close for comfort, she left Slovyansk, another pro-Russian stronghold.

"At night, we heard shooting," she says. "Even during the day. And then we became afraid for ourselves, for our children.

And so she left behind her flower garden and the city she loves, carrying nothing but a small bag.

She now shares a room with her daughter and grandson.

"We are waiting for the presidential election," she says. "We hope the situation will stabilize."

Those elections now just days away, unclear if they'll help her leave Yanukovych's palace and go back home.

Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Kiev.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: After the break right here on News Stream, scenes of jubilation in India. We'll take you live to a country preparing to welcome a new leader.

And huge wildfires wrecking havoc in southern California. And now there is speculation arsonists may have been at work. We have more on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Narendra Modi looks set to be India's new prime minister. Now early election results point to a landslide victory for his BJP party. Now the Congress Party, which has been in power for the last 10 years, is conceding that it is headed for defeat.

FIFA's president says it was a mistake to plan the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in the summer. Now Sepp Blatter said FIFA's executive committee ignored a report that said it would be too hot. Now Blatter says the tournament should be played in winter. FIFA will decide on moving the date later this year.

China's chief military officer says Beijing will not back down in disputed waters of the South China Sea. Now destructive demonstrations started in Vietnam after China deployed an oil rig there. Now commerce ministers from China and Vietnam are meeting to discuss the anti-Chine violence.

And we are continuing to follow developments in Kenya. Four people were killed in a pair of explosions in the capital Nairobi. One blast hit a market in the heart of the city, and another struck a Minibus, that's according to Kenyan authorities.

A number of injuries are reported.

Now let's head back to India now, a country poised to welcome in a new prime minister. And CNN's Becky Anderson is there in New Delhi. She joins us now live -- Becky.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I've been down to BJP headquarters this morning where crowds are absolutely ecstatic. Supporters of Narendra Modi, the new prime minister is certainly going forward. He won't be sworn in likely until next Wednesday, but the new prime minister has support across the board here. And they were celebrating with drums. They were dancing. It was quite remarkable scenes. And that was some hours ago now, well before he had this victory in the bag.

And this is a landslide victory, the significance of which cannot be overstated, not just for Indians, but for the rest of the world, because this is a $2 trillion economy that is not living up to expectations at present. And clearly Modi has a plan for that. And that is why 66 percent -- an historic amount of people -- came out and voted for him today. Remarkable stuff.

On the foreign policy side, I've got the manifesto sitting in front of me here. And he talks about the fact that congress, who are the incumbents, have failed to establish enduring friendly and cooperative relationships with neighbors. He said clarity going forward where we have seen confusion in the past. India's relations with traditional allies have turned cold. India and its neighbors have drifted apart.

This, remember, is a man who doesn't have a visa to visit the States. It was revoked after allegations that he oversaw in 2002 anti-Muslim riots in his home state of Gujarat.

This is quite a remarkable day.

And world leaders will be looking at what is going on here, not least President Obama. But you've only got to consider those who are looking in from Pakistan, and indeed from China, regional rivals here. And you realize just how significant a day this is.

LU STOUT: A lot of hope, high expectations and also concern for the man poised to become India's new leader. Becky Anderson joining us live from New Delhi, thank you so much for that. Take care.

Now fierce fires, they are tearing through Southern California. Homes and thousands of hectares of land have been destroyed in San Diego County. One person has been found dead. 15,000 residents forced to be evacuated.

Now strong winds, they even whipped up something called firenadoes in San Marcos.

Now fires there, they started burning out of control on Thursday fueled by scorching temperatures. Scenes there incredible of this fire tornadoes.

Now police suspect that two teenagers may have lit some of the smaller fires.

Let's get details now with Dan Simon. He joins us live from San Marcos. And Dan, I mean, truly apocalyptic scenes out there.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I tell you what, those flames just an incredible spectacle, but the smoke also intense. You really feel it all throughout San Diego, certainly feeling it here in Escandido, California where the sun is beginning to rise. It was certainly a very long night of firefighting. We're expecting to see more today.

You can see this is one of the homes that has been burned to the ground, several homes in this neighborhood. And with so many fires still burning at one in the San Diego area, there's concern that we haven't seen the end of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: Raging on overnight. At least eight fires in San Diego county consuming home after home. Smoke even visible from space as the blazes ravage over 10,000 acres. Evacuations now call for nearly 16,000 residences as the flames turn fatal. Fire crews discovering a badly burned body in a Carlsbad encampment. The unseasonably erratic winds with gusts up to 50 miles per hour, spreading the flames rapidly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have never seen the Santa Ana winds, also called devil winds, in the month of may.

SIMON: Winds whipping in multiple directions causing terrifying fire tornadoes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another tornado right there on the other side.

SIMON: Watch this flaming vortex atop a hill spin wildly, nearly engulfing the house in front. Thousands of firefighters and military crews bombarding the blazes from all sides. Still, no match for the swift moving flames fueled by acres of dry brush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It came down the hill. Once you start seeing black smoke, it was upon here within 15 minutes.

SIMON: With so many wildfires erupting one right after the other, speculation of arson on the rise. Two teens 30 miles north of San Diego now in custody being questioned for two smaller brush fires in Escondido.

CHIEF CRAIG CARER, ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA POLICE: We have developed reasonable suspicion, probable cause to believe that they were involved in setting fires.

SIMON: Unrelated to San Diego's eight major brush fires, reducing almost 20 homes now to ashes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was absolutely gorgeous. And now it's all gone. All gone. What can I say?

SIMON: Fortunately not everything was destroyed. Sophie's family safe salvaging a few family photos. And their dog rocky, his fur singed from the flames, found alive after being trapped in the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After all of this devastation, the house is completely on the ground. We were just praying at least we could find our little dog here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: Well, local authorities say all of this fire activity is unprecedented, that's why speculation immediately turned to arson since you have so many fires burning at once. WE can tell you that two teenagers were taken into custody. They are accused of trying to start some small brush fires. But they're investigating to see whether or not they might be involved in some of these bigger fires.

But, again, Arson thought to be a cause, or at least there's speculation that it might be. But right now, of course the focus is just trying to put all these fires out -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: The amount of fire activity, as you said, officials are calling it unprecedented. And right behind you, Dan, we're seeing these open burning flames at the home behind you that was destroyed. What is the risk of a flare up prompting even more blazes and more evacuations there?

SIMON: Well, there certainly is that risk, especially with the wind. When the winds kick up, you have these flying embers which could ignite more blazes.

In terms of the weather right now, fortunately it's a big cooler. The humidity is rising. And not much wind to speak of. But you're right, you know, when you go through some of these neighborhoods you see flames still smoldering in the ashes and so they can be dangerous especially if those winds kick up. Fortunately, or at least let's hope that the weather is going to remain calm today, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, let's hope indeed. And with the fire activity out there and the smoke as well, please do take care. Dan Simon joining us live from Escandido, California, thank you.

Now there in California as you just heard his report is very dry, it's very hot, the fire activity there unprecedented. Let's get an update, and also more on the spot fires and those flaming vortexes known as firenadoes. Mari Ramos joins us now with that and more -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie, you know what a contrast that struck me right now when they were listening to Dan. What a contrast when you see those huge flames and then the aftermath and how dramatic and how drastic it is when you see the aftermath of people's belongings and their homes, everything burned to the ground. It almost seems so surreal.

Let's go ahead and get right to it. Let's talk, first, about the spot fires. This is a huge, huge concern.

In those pictures from Dan, you saw the winds were relatively calm, but when the winds pick up any kind of fire that you have, whether it's a large one or a small one, you have those very gusty winds that blow across the mountaintops and that is how those embers spread, sometimes several kilometers away.

They are blown away from the fire, sometimes ahead of the fire. And they spark a new wildfire putting other areas as risk. That's what a spot fire is. It's a huge concern for firefighters and something that they're having to do with significantly, especially in these hilly, rugged terrain there of Southern California. It's a big concern for them and something they are looking at carefully.

The other thing is are these fire tornadoes, or fire whirls. We always hear these things that the fire creates its own wind pattern. Well, let me go ahead and show you a little bit of that wind pattern. And look at the video.

Here you see it. You see the column of smoke just spinning around there and spinning and spinning. That's a huge fire tornado. Eventually, it kind of thins out as it heads towards the top there. That's a fire tornado. And we saw several of those also in Dan's report.

Come back over to the weather map over here. We'll take you away from those amazing images, kind of explain what happens.

So what happens is you have that very hot air rising very, very quickly. You already have eddies, or turbulence or a vortex kind of forming, vorticity forming toward the bottom, but you don't really see it at first, because it's invisible. If it was dust devil, for example, you would see the dust kind of rising.

The warm air rises very, very quickly and temperatures that can reach hundreds of degrees, by some estimates maybe 1,000 degrees Celsius, that's pretty significant. That happens very, very quickly as you saw from those images.

All of a sudden you begin to see that fire column light up, that's because at the surface the fire is burning all of that vegetation. And that vegetation is reaching -- is releasing carbon up into the air. What happens is there is an oxygen depletion. So in other words, it's not lit, it's just carbon, it's just gases that are rising up.

But as that gets carried up into this column, into that vortex, it finds oxygen one more time. And that oxygen combusts as it finds the oxygen again to live, so to speak. And that is how we end up with those pictures like the ones we just saw of that fire vorticity. Usually, they're not like large tornadoes like we saw in Oklahoma, for example, like we've seen in other parts of the United States. These tend to be very small. They tend to move rather slowly, but they can cause damage in sense that they can have sometimes very strong winds, maybe up to 100 kilometers per hour. That was not the case with the ones we saw right now in California. And they can jump from place to place.

The main concern with them is the danger to firefighters and of course the danger of them starting even new fires.

Kristie, back to you.

LU STOUT: All right, Mari Ramos there. And always, always appreciate your explainers. And in this case, explaining what goes into this phenomenon, this frightening phenomenon known as the fire tornado. Thank you very much indeed.

Now we are one step closer to the internet having a fast lane. And that is worrying activists who think that this could be the end of an open internet.

Now the fight is all about the concept of net neutrality. Now if you imagine the internet as the information superhighway, net neutrality means that everyone has equal access to every website. So for example, right now internet providers cannot block access to Facebook or give faster access to YouTube.

But that is set to change. On Thursday, the FCC in the U.S. voted to move ahead with a proposal for an internet fast lane so that a company like Netflix can pay internet providers to give it better access than its rivals.

Now the FCC's chairman says Internet providers must still commit to providing an adequate level of service for all sites and says that they're still committed to an open internet. But activists, they criticized the move. They worry that the system will hurt smaller companies that can't afford to pay for the fast lane.

Now the FCC proposal is now open for public comment for the next four months. It could still change before a final vote to implement it.

Coming up next right here on News Stream, pulverized and incinerated, that is what's happening to Hong Kong's stockpile of illegal ivory. But can the destruction curb demand? We'll speak to one wildlife activist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now here in Hong Kong the world's largest ivory destruction project is underway. Now the government is getting rid of its 28 ton plus stockpile - - tusks, jewelry, carved figurines are being ground up and then burned. Now this process is set to take at least a year.

I'm joined now by wildlife activists Sharon Kwok. She's the director of the Aqua Meridian Conservation Education program. Thank you so much for joining us here.

It was an incredible message that was sent by the Hong Kong government earlier this week. They are starting to incinerate and to burn over 29 tons of confiscated Ivory. What kind of message does that send to you?

SHARON KWOK, WILDLIFE ACTIVIST: Well, to me and hopefully to the rest of the world, it's the fact that we actually cherish having live elephants over dead ivory.

LU STOUT: Do you think the Hong Kong government is doing enough?

KWOK: Well, at this point just for right now yes. But in the long- term definitely not.

What the problem is, the legal ivory trade right now is a perfect avenue for the insatiable demand of ivory. And a lot of it right now is illegal.

LU STOUT: There's a situation in Hong Kong. There's also the situation in Mainland China. Are authorities there addressing it in an adequate way?

KWOK: In China, we are -- I know that a lot of NGOs are promoting also the same message. And China also has stepped up and did a crush, but then again I'm sure that there's a lot more ivory in China. And there could be a lot more destruction going on.

I think that what Hong Kong needs to do now, though, is -- well, we got together with a coalition of 50 international NGOs. And we sent a letter to chief executive CY Leung asking for a complete ban in ivory sales in Hong Kong.

LU STOUT: You want more, you want a complete ban.

KWOK: Yeah, you know, the ivory trade has been in sort of like a stasis since 1989. There is (inaudible) regulations, which allow for pre- 1989 stocks in Hong Kong to continue being sold.

However, you look at the amount of ivory that's being sold in Hong Kong now, there is no way that all of that could be legal ivory.

LU STOUT: Now there has been some movement on that front with retailers here in Hong Kong like China Arts and Crafts, Wingon (ph), saying that they will stop selling ivory.

KWOK: A Yuha (ph), three of them, yes.

LU STOUT: ...the three retailers there.

But there's also the issue of reaching out to the consumer, right, Chinese consumers across greater China, because culturally ivory is a prized possession or has been, right. The ivory charms or ivory seals and what have you.

What's needed to change that mindset so people in greater China say this is something that we don't want to covet any more.

KWOK: Well, I think that education is the real answer here. And we're trying everything that we can. I think we need to also work with the government. Wherever there's any avenues that we can educate, we need to go there.

And, hey, you're helping too.

LU STOUT: Trying to get the word out, right?

KWOK: Yes.

LU STOUT: And there's also the issue of addressing demand, but also supply, getting to the poachers in Africa. What's the latest on that front?

KWOK: Well, in Africa over the past 10 years over 1,000 park rangers have actually given their lives to protect these animals -- elephants and rhinos. And I actually really believe that intrinsically people have good hearts, they just don't realize that elephants are being poached for their tusks, a lot of them even think that tusks fall off like teeth.

So we need to change that. We need to let people know.

And frankly, there's a lot of Chinese people that really believe in Buddhism. And of course, you know, Buddha teaches compassion and so on. And a lot of these ivory items have been carved into Buddhist statues. So if you were to do the math, you know, you look at a piece of ivory and you see a poached elephant having died a horrific death instead of a beautiful piece of artwork, then you probably you wouldn't want this in your house.

LU STOUT: More education is needed, definitely. And thank you so much for your work. Sharon Kwok, activist, thank you for joining us here on News Stream.

KWOK: Thank you.

LU STOUT: All right.

Now back to our top story now. Let's take you to India now. Live pictures there. Narendra Modi, he is addressing the crowds now. Again, he is set to take the reigns as the next leader, the next prime minister of India and what some expect to be the biggest election victory the country has seen in about 30 years.

Now Modi's BJP party and his supporters are riding high on what appears to be a landslide victory.

He is talking right now, addressing his party supporters. And we'll have much more on the result of India's massive election in the hours ahead.

You're watching News Stream. We'll be back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now many questions are being asked about why the New York Times suddenly fired executive editor Jill Abramson earlier this week. Few answers have emerged, but it has people talking about gender equality in the workplace.

Jean Casarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In one day, proof of how women have come and how far some say they still need to go on the job. TV trailblazer Barbara Walters retiring after over 50 years in broadcasting. But as the first female network co-anchor, she wasn't always welcome.

BARBARA WALTERS, JOURNALIST; I had great difficulties and it was a very difficult, unhappy experience.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: She's talked about how she was a flop as the first female co-anchor of a nightly newscast and how the male co-anchor undermined her every chance he got. It were those kinds of barriers that she was breaking down decades ago.

JILL ABRAMSON, FRM. EXECUTIVE EDITOR, NEW YORK TIMES: I'm honored to be the first woman to serve as executive editor.

CASAREZ: At the same time, another female pioneer gets the ax -- Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times since 2011. The speculation as to why. A national conversation with some wondering does America have a problem with powerful women and female bosses.

It turns out that female CEOs are forced out of their jobs more often than their male counterparts. A recent study found 11 percent more.

The New York Times says the decision was made because of an issue with management. NPR's media reporter says some who worked with her found her to be brusque even to the point of rudeness. And close associates are telling the New Yorker that she confronted top brass after finding out that she was making less money than her male predecessor.

The speculation became so rampant, the publisher of The Times issued an internal memo saying, compensation played no part whatsoever in my decision that Jill could not remain as executive editor.

Abramson isn't talking publicly about her ouster, but her daughter posted this picture of her on Instagram referencing criticism of her mother's character with the hashtag #pushy.

Another female first, Hillary Clinton, close to clinching the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, but not close enough. In her concession speech, she referenced the struggles even the most powerful women face.

HILLARY CLINTON, FRM. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time. Thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.

CASAREZ: But cracks in the glass ceiling may be replaced with the glass cliff for women who do break through, begging the question whether for women getting to the top is only half the battle.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And finally, an update on that infamous elevator incident. A heated argument was caught on tape between Jay-Z and his wife Beyonce's sister Solange. Now the surveillance video was leaked to TMZ this week. And now the trio have broken their silence saying Jaz-Z and Solange were both responsible and, quote, "they both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family." It goes on to say, "at the end of the day, families have problem and we are no different."

But still no insight into what sparked the fight. Unless someone finds the audio, we'll probably never know.

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

END