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NEWS STREAM

28 Dead In Militant Attack of Karachi Airport; On the Hung for Boko Haram; Bowe Bergdahl's Time In Captivity; Interview with Edward Snowden Legal Adviser; South Korea Still Seeking Justice For Ferry Disaster

Aired June 09, 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 making news today, a deadly attack on Pakistan's busiest airport followed by a warning of more bloodshed to come.

Also, subway strikes in Sao Paulo threatened to disrupt a smooth start to the World Cup.

And tracking Boko Haram -- a CNN exclusive report on the hunt for Nigeria's most wanted terrorists.

Now the Pakistani Taliban have called a five hour siege on Karachi's airport an act of retaliation.

Now the assault began late on Sunday night when 10 heavily armed militants stormed the airport's cargo area. It is the country's largest

and busiest airport.

Now the military says 28 people were killed in the attack, including all 10 assailants. But the group's commander vows more attacks are on the

way. He says they were avenging the death of former chief Hakimullah Mehsud who was killed in a U.S. drone strike last year.

Now let's get straight to Karachi now for the latest. CNN's Saima Mohsin is there. And Saima, just how did this attack unfold?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, 10 militants targeted Jinnah International Airport's terminal one. Now this

is an older terminal building. It's very small one story building. And it's pretty much only used for private jets or government flights and

occasionally for those traveling on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. So perhaps this is why the militants targeted this terminal thinking that

there would be less of a security presence.

Nevertheless when they started cutting through the barbed wire, that's when airport security force personnel spotted them. A gun battle ensued.

And we understand that the militants then holed up into two hangars, one of them for Pakistan International Airlines, the national flag carrier,

another that's used for general maintenance and refueling.

Once cornered, two of the 10 detonated their suicide vests and that is why we saw those huge orange flames and thick black smoke coming out from

the -- one of the airport hangars.

Terrified passengers, of course Kristie, many of them just a few kilometers away out of harm's way we are assured by authorities, but

nevertheless stuck on board planes, stuck inside the airport terminal unable to go anywhere until they were given the all-clear -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: This was a very deadly raid on Pakistan's busiest airport. Pakistan's Taliban have claimed responsibility and they have vowed more

attacks to come. So Saima, what do we know about the group's overall capability and the real threat it poses?

MOHSIN: You know, Kristie, there was a lot of almost celebration amongst security officials in government last week when news of the

Pakistan Taliban's split came out, that we understand that two factions have now been created in the Pakistan Taliban. There was a lot of talk

about the beginning of the end of the Taliban almost, that they were now breaking up into smaller factions and perhaps more easier to deal with by

security forces.

However, this attack clearly shows that they are equipped. They're fully equipped. They come planned and they can target a high security

installation in the heart of Pakistan's largest city. So some concern.

But one thing people have noticed is that Pakistan is able to deal with these attacks as far as reacting to them is concerned. We saw a huge

police, rangers and airport security force personnel present last night. They managed to deal with it.

What is questionable is whether Pakistan's intelligence agencies are doing enough to identify and locate these groups and deal with them.

However small they may be, they're having a big impact -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Very critical point there as questions loom large over Pakistan's intelligence agency. Saima Mohsin on the line joining us live

from Karachi, thank you so much for that update Saima.

Now the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is defending the release of five high level Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay for the U.S. Army

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

Now this is Taliban video of the arrival of the detainees in Qatar. Under the terms of the deal, they are to remain there in Qatar for a year.

Now top ranking Senate Democrat is concerned, but John Kerry says they will be monitored.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm not telling that they don't have some ability at some point to go back and get involved. But they also

have an ability to get killed doing that. And I don't think anybody should doubt the capacity of the United States of America to protect Americans.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) CALIFORNIA: I heard John Kerry this morning say, you know, don't worry about them in Doha. You can't but worry

about them in Doha. And we have no information on how the United States is actually going to see that they remain in Doha.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right.

We're also learning new details of what Sergeant Bergdahl went through while he was held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years.

Now CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson joins me now live from Doha.

And Nic, new information about Bowe Bergdahl and his life, what he endured during captivity. What have you learned?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Through a Taliban source who has been familiar in the past with other westerners who have

been held in captivity by the same Taliban group, he said that initially Bergdahl was held in a house that was run, if you will, by an old man. It

wasn't very secure. Bergdahl managed to escape. He was on the run for three whole days, but because the Taliban controlled the area he wasn't

able to get away and the Taliban recaptured him.

Then, they put him in somewhere much more secure. They moved him several times because of fears of drone strikes. But over those five

years, they say, Bergdahl learned to speak Pashto, the local language, was able to communicate effectively with the Taliban, asked for reading

material, was given reading material.

The Taliban say that he stayed firm to his Christian faith. That they allowed him to observe Christmas and Easter.

That he complained at one point about his food, saying he was being given too much lamb, that he didn't like the smell and asked for fruit and

vegetables, which they say he was given, as he requested.

They also say that he managed to get some exercise on occasion playing soccer with the Taliban.

This source has had information about Bergdahl's detention, but perhaps not across the whole time period of it, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Nic, the Taliban five, they are there in Qatar. Just a moment ago, we heard concern by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein about them.

How big a terror threat do they pose?

ROBERTSON: Inside Qatar right now, it's unlikely that they pose any kind of terror threat to Qatar. Most likely in a scenario like this,

they're not allowed to leave the country for a year. The simplest way for authorities in any country to do that would be to remove their passports.

We don't know that that happened in this case, but typically that's how it might be done.

But any government, police, intelligence agency around the world to monitor, to mount a 24 hour a day monitoring operation of five men in this

sort of situation would be very tough to do to sort of hermetically seal them off from friends, from family from contacts with Afghanistan.

John Kerry has been very clear that if they try to go back and break the terms of the deal, which we don't all the details of that deal, but if

they do try and go back, then there's the potential for them to be killed.

But certainly for Qatari authorities, they've made a commitment to the United States. There's a lot riding upon how much they can carry out and

fulfill that commitment. And at the moment neither the Taliban nor the Qatari authorities nor the U.S. government has really told us all the

details of the exchange and what are the sort of bargain is it, if you will. And so far, all three sides to that seem to be sticking to their

word and keeping quiet and none of them leaking additional information.

How much of a terror threat do they pose potentially down the line if they go back and join the fight in Afghanistan? They could be involved in

killing more civilians there. They're not saying that at the moment, but, you know, there's much time to go and this war in Afghanistan still

continues, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Nic Robertson across all threads in this story reporting live from Doha. Thank you, Nic.

Now let's turn now to the city of Las Vegas. A shooting there claimed the lives of five people, including the two suspects who were hurt saying,

quote, "this is a revolution."

Dan Simon explains how it all unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Breaking overnight, a raid in an apartment in Las Vegas, possibly the home of the two suspects

involved in Sunday's shooting spree. An area around the apartment was cordoned off. Local affiliates report an explosion, apparently with a flash

bang grenade set off by police. A law enforcement source tells CNN the suspects were a married couple with extremist views toward law enforcement.

SHERIFF DOUG GILLESPIE, LAS VEGAS METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT: It's a tragic day. It's a very, very difficult day.

SIMON: Around 11:22 a.m. on Sunday, about 10 miles from the Las Vegas strip, two people, one male, one female, opened fire inside this pizza

restaurant. Witnesses here declare the ambush a revolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw the gun in their hand, they told me to tell the cops that it was a revolution.

SIMON: When police arrived they discovered that two of their own were murdered. They've been identified as 41-year-old Officer Alyn Beck and 31-

year-old Soldo, both leaving behind wives and young children. Igor

GILLESPIE: What precipitated this event, we do not know. My officers were simply having lunch.

SIMON: Authorities say one officer was able to fire back before being killed. The assailants then grabbing the officers' guns and their

ammunition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man who shot him was hugging him like this, but I think he was going for his gun, trying to get the officers' gun.

SIMON: The duo then headed across the street to this Wal-mart killing a woman near the front entrance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw a whole bunch of people start running towards the back.

SIMON: Police converged on the scene exchanging gunfire inside, but before they could apprehend the pair, the female attacker shot the male

suspect, she then turned the gun on herself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Dan Simon reporting.

Now still ahead right here on News Stream, a rare look inside Aleppo. Now CNN returns to the Syrian city where there is destruction as far as the

eye can see after years of war.

Also ahead, it has been one year since Edward Snowden's U.S. surveillance bombshell. A look at what the NSA leaker is up to now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

And you're looking at a visual version of all the stories we've got in the show today.

Now we've already told you about the terror attack on Pakistan's busiest airport. And later, we'll bring you an exclusive look at an area

suspected to be a Boko Haram hideout.

But now, let's bring you the latest in the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Now Malaysian officials, they announced today, that

they are sending a delegation to Canberra on Tuesday to meet with the Australian search time.

Now they're planning to discuss the next phase of the mission, which they suggest could include a new search area.

Now keep in mind, the underwater search of the plane, it was postponed last month until at least late July.

Now earlier today, we heard familiar words from the Malaysian government about the search.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAILANI JOHARI, DEPUTY MINISTER OF COMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA: We will continue with the search operations until we have fully covered the

search area. We will strive to explore all possible options in finding MH370.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now family members frustrated over the lack of information, the lack of progress in the search are now taking efforts into their own

hands.

Now relatives of those missing passengers are turning to the crowd sourcing website Indiegogo to launch a fundraising drive. They say that

their plan is to raise $5 million to help fund a private investigation and offer a reward for information.

Now one family member spoke to CNN's New Day earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH BAJC, PARTNERS OF PHILIP WOOD: I don't have that hope anymore any more, because there has yet to be a press conference where we've

actually learned something substantial. And it's usually something that happens kind of after the fact, it's the closing of curtain.

So, you know, at this point, I think the family members, and many of the experts who have been consulting with us along the way, have basically

thrown up our hands and said, you know, let's take a fresh look at it. Let's treat it as a proper investigation and see if we can't trace back to

finding some actual evidence of what's happened with this airplane.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well to that end, I think a lot of us have to give you and the families a whole lot of credit for keeping

this investigation alive. To that end, you and some of the families have gotten together and have started a crowd-sourcing campaign. Your goal is to

get some $5 million. What are you hoping to achieve? And what do you want to do with this money specifically, Sarah?

BAJC: Well, there's a very real potential here that somebody knows something that they haven't brought forward, probably because they're

afraid of repercussions. So we feel that a large reward will provide sufficient incentive for that person to come forward and to do the right

thing and tell us where the airplane is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Family reaction give to CNN's New Day earlier.

Now the wait is nearly over for football fans around the world. The 2014 World Cup is set to kickoff in Brazil on Thursday with the host

country taking on Croatia in the opening match.

But behind some of the flattering World Cup images is another reality. Now transit workers are demanding higher pay and say that their strike will

continue indefinitely until their demands are met, and that is adding to all the concerns about Brazil's readiness to host the games.

Now police have fired tear gas today to break up protests in support of the strike. Let's get more now from Shasta Darlington. She joins us

live from Sao Paulo.

And Shasta, what is the latest on the metro strike there, the traffic jam it's been causing there in Sao Paulo.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's absolutely mayhem, Kristie.

And obviously the transit workers are trying to take advantage of this World Cup telling officials is this what you want to happen during the

opening game on Thursday? Well, pay up.

So they really have -- they have a lot of leverage right now. And it's total chaos in Sao Paulo.

I can tell you I personally took over an hour and a half to get into the office. It's usually a 20 minute drive. And those people -- and we're

talking about 4 million who rely on the metro and the trains, they're out on the street today because they can't use the metro.

Even though a judge has ordered them to at least have the metro up and running 70 percent or face fines of 500,000 reals, which is about $300,000

a day. They say they don't care. They really know they've got the leverage Kristie. And if they don't resolve this, we are going to see this

kind of chaos during the World Cup. The metro is one of the main forms of transportation to get to that opening match. And they're going to have to

come up with alternative forms of getting people there -- buses, using more of the over-land trains.

But even the officials haven't come up with an alternative, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and underscoring just the transport mayhem behind you, Shasta, we can see gridlock on the highway just bumper to bumper

traffic.

I mean, this is a huge challenge for World Cup organizers.

It sounds like what you're telling me when the tournament starts, they won't be able to have a guarantee to end this strike and they don't even

have options yet to allow the transport system to run smoothly. So what is the experience going to be like for fans when they touch down?

DARLINGTON: Well, this has been a bit of a chaotic runup to the World Cup. We've talked about this a number of times. When Brazil first took on

this great challenge, they said they were going to double metro lines all over Brazil in all of the 12 cities. They were going to build special bus

corridors, really at least half of the projects that they announced either haven't been finished or were never even started.

So then their second plan was, oh, well we'll declare holidays on game days, so you won't have kids going to school, a lot of people won't be

going to the office, it'll free up the streets. That is the gameplan as we speak. The problem is if one of the main forms of getting those fans to

the stadium in the case of Sao Paulo, the metro, isn't working even a holiday won't really resolve that issue.

So, again, they're either going to have to reach an agreement with transit strikers in the next couple of days, or come out with some

brilliant plan that we're all desperate to hear about, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Shasta, pulling back a bit, in the last year there have been a number of protests and demonstrations across Brazil from homeless

groups to striking workers like what we've seen there in Sao Paulo and others. Why has there been so much public anger ahead of the World Cup?

DARLINGTON: It's really a combination of things, Kristie. I think on the one hand there are people who are just genuinely disappointed, angry

that Brazil has spent so much money on this international sporting event when it has so many problems at home. So it sounds cliche, but they really

don't understand why they needed to renovate or build 12 new stadiums instead of investing that money to improve schools, to improve hospitals.

There is also another element, and that's all of these groups like the transit workers who think this is the ideal platform to pressure for higher

wages, to pressure for their special interests. Obviously there is -- there are a lot of working poor here who can't afford to buy a house, but

this is the moment to step up and say why did you spend money on stadiums, we need low income housing. Like no other moment, they won't have this

opportunity. So they are trying to take advantage of international press being here and of the government wanting to impress the world. They're

trying to take advantage of this moment to get what they want, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, intentionally timed to the World Cup now just three days away. Shasta Darlington reporting live from Sao Paulo, thank you

Shasta.

Now CNN is your home for all things World Cup. On our website, you get a look at the 32 nations competing in the big event as well as some of

their most devoted fans who travel thousands of kilometers just to see their teams. It's all at CNN.com/WorldCup.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up, nothing but the skeletons of buildings and the constant threat of barrel bombs remain. We'll look at

the harsh realities of life in Syria's largest city after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now in Syria, the three year civil war has all but destroyed the city of Aleppo. And CNN is the first American TV network to return to the area.

As Nick Paton Walsh reports, deadly barrel bombs are still falling.

And a warning, some of the images in this report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Head to Aleppo and the scale of its catastrophe quickly dawns. The future comes from it. This

is what the edge of humanity looks like, ground to dust, the smell of burning plastic at every turn. The Syrian regime is trying to encircle

those remaining areas of Aleppo still held by the rebels. But months of pounding by heavy artillery and barrel bombs mean that in streets like

this, life has already been extinguished.

Here's how. This building was hit in the dead of night by a barrel bomb, huge crudely made scrap metal and TNT randomly dropped from a

helicopter. Survivors look up fearing them and look through what they have done. When there is so little left to live from, even the remains of murder

are prized. Seven died here, we're told.

Aleppo is dying, a city of 2 million, now in rebel areas down to mere thousands. We meet a British doctor working in Syria for two years now with

severe burns to his leg from being bombed six weeks ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The planes come. We duck down, and they just hit us with a bomb. I didn't feel anything. Next thing, I was waking up and I

couldn't feel my legs. We cannot bear it anymore.

WALSH: Some are so young, this will be among their first memories. Why a sniper shot five-year-old Mohammed, he will never know. He was sitting

watching cartoons on TV in his home at the time.

What can his mother say?

"What's wrong with the sniper's eyes?" She says. "Was he blind? Could he not see it was my child?" The bullet went in here and out here.

On the outskirts, trash burns, the smoke of a city rising, leaving behind those who cannot leave who must find life in its embers.

END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That haunting report, it only scratches the surface of what Nick Paton Walsh experienced in Aleppo. And for the full picture, just go

to CNN.com to read his reporter's notebook.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see just how desolate, unforgiving and remote the terrain out here is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Those are the harsh conditions that make the remote islands of Lake Chad the perfect hideout for Boko Haram. We'll bring you an

exclusive look at the hunt for the terrorist group.

Also ahead, it has been one year since Edward Snowden uncovered the NSA's far reaching surveillance program. We'll take a look at the

consequences of those revelations next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now the Pakistani Taliban are claiming responsibility for a five hour assault on the country's busiest airport. Now heavily armed militants

stormed a cargo area at Karachi International Airport on Sunday night. The military says 28 people were killed, including the 10 attackers. A

militant leader says it was retaliation for the drone killing of former Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud last year.

A metro strike in Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo, is creating traffic chaos just three days before the start of the World Cup. Now

workers are demanding a pay hike. Now a court has declared the strike illegal and is threatening large fines.

U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl continues to recover at a hospital in Germany after being held hostage for nearly five years by the Taliban. A

U.S. official tells CNN that Bergdahl says he was kept in a cage after he tried to escape. But a Taliban source tells CNN that Bergdahl was just

moved to a more secure location.

Two men have been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Russian journalist. Now the investigative reporter Anna Polikovskaya was shot and

killing in 2006. Now the 48-year-old had been reporting on corruption and rights abuses.

Now demonstrations for Nigeria's missing school girls continued over the weekend in the capital of Abuja. Now they have been undeterred by

nationwide bans against demonstrations brought in last week. and we're now two months into the search for the kidnapped students and still the

whereabouts of more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram militants remain unknown.

But a U.S. intelligence source now believes that Boko Haram insurgents could be hiding out on the remote islands of Lake Chad. Now it is a

difficult journey to the isolated lake along Nigeria's northeast border. And senior international correspondent Arwa Damon managed to get there and

she filed this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: We're close to Niger's porous border with Boko Haram's stronghold in Nigeria followed by an armed escort. We're heading towards

Lake Chad, a long tracks barely visible in the sand.

Our driver was just telling us that those trucks were carrying fish caught from Lake Chad that's been dried.

We're in Niger. You can see just how desolate, unforgiving and remote the terrain out here is.

U.S. sources say the lake is an area of interest in the search for the missing Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the terrorist group in mid-April.

We arrive at the port town of Kiri Kiri (ph), for months dealing with an influx of refugees.

In March, along the lake to the south of here, Nigerian forces raided a Boko Haram camp, capturing weapons, ammunition and explosives. But these

are largely lawless waters.

We're just heading off towards the islands located in Lake Chad to see some of the Nigerian refugees that have fled there.

The lake is massive, spanning some 520 square miles, more than half of it populated by islands covered in dense vegetation, ideal hideouts.

We're as far as we're told we can safely go on one of the islands closest to Niger.

It's not just the dense vegetation that makes it so challenging when it comes to searching for Boko Haram's camps, or even the missing

schoolgirls, it's that islands like this one, for example, are populated by small clusters of homes. Boko Haram, the schoolgirls, could easily amongst

the local population.

Before fleeing here, fisherman Bolama Noma (ph) lived on one of the islands close to Nigeria. He describes how Boko Haram raided his village,

stealing produce, torching homes, so many villagers killed, he says, he lost count.

Here, village and terrorist camps are difficult to distinguish from aerial surveillance, especially if as is widely believed, the girls had

been split into smaller groups.

And Lake Chad isn't the only area of interest. A difficult search would give way to an even more challenging rescue. The terrain here is as

harsh as Boko Haram's tactics are unforgiving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now let's go straight to Arwa Damon who has just returned from Lake Chad. She joins us from our bureau in London.

And Arwa, Lake Chad is now quote, "an area of interest," in this search, but ultimately what is going to secure the release of the

schoolgirls? Will it be military action or talks, negotiation with Boko Haram?

DAMON: Unfortunately, Kristie, both of those options are going to be very difficult to navigate. When it comes to any sort of military

operation, the Nigerian government has already taken that off the table, fearing that it could further jeopardize the girls. And, in fact, two Boko

Haram informants that we spoke to while we were in Nigeria told us that they had no doubt in their minds that the organization, the various cells

that are most likely holding the girls, would not hesitate to use them as human shields.

However, the Nigerian government has also said that it would not do any sort of prisoner exchange to try to secure the release of these girls.

At the end of the day, though, there is going to have to be some sort of negotiation, some sort of channel of communication that is open if there

is any hope that these girls will be brought back home alive, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Now, Arwa, there has been more violence in the region the past week believed to be caused by Boko Haram. I mean, despite all the

international attention, all the international assistance on the ground, is Boko Haram actually gaining in strength?

DAMON: It seems to be that way. Their attacks ever since the kidnapping of these 200 plus schoolgirls have grown more brazen, more

frequent. Just a few days ago, they attack four villages along the Nigerian border with Cameroon sending countless people fleeing into

Cameroon.

According to one eyewitness, scores were killed in one village alone. The Boko Haram militants coming in very confident with rocket-propelled

grenades, heavy machine guns, torching everything.

This is an organization that is not just confined to Nigeria, as well. It does have various other types of operations, perhaps not as dramatic, in

a number of Nigeria's neighboring countries. So the other big challenge in all of this, too, is not just dealing with Boko Haram within Nigeria's

borders, but how do you prevent the group and its ideology from spreading, Kristie?

LU STOUT: Now that was a much needed update. Big thank you to you and your team. Arwa Damon joining us live from CNN London. Thank you.

And while the search for Boko Haram is proving difficult, finding their impact is disturbingly easy. In fact, in our next report Arwa Damon

will be talking to two girls who are now facing life as orphans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: 14-year-old Bintu (ph) and her 12-year-old sister Mau (ph) grew up as daddy's girls after they lost their mother to natural causes.

Then he was killed in a Boko Haram attack.

The family fled from Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram in Nigeria. It took them about a day to get here to Difa (ph) in Niger. But

still, fear followed them across the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And you can watch more of Arwa Damon's exclusive reporting from Niger on the hunt for Boko Haram all this week on CNN.

Now take a look at this image. Now that is the first glimpse most of us got of Edward Snowden. It has now been one year since the initial

bombshell that detailed a U.S. surveillance program and top secret documents from the National Security Agency, or NSA.

Now he fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia where he remains today.

Now take a look at the sweeping claims that put the former intelligence contractor on the run. Now Snowden's revelations have

included claims that the NSA spied on heads of state, including the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

We also learned about an NSA program called PRISM. Now reports say it allowed the agency to access user information from the likes of Google and

Facebook. Now the companies have denied allowing direct access to their servers.

And then, we heard claims that the NSA is able to access data from smartphones, including contacts and text messages.

Now, Ben Wizner is Edward Snowden's legal adviser. He is also the director of the speech, privacy and technology project of the American

Civil Liberties Union. He joins me now live from New York.

Ben, thank you so much for joining us here on CNN International.

As Snowden's legal adviser, I want to ask you first, how did you initially come into contact with Edward Snowden?

BEN WIZNER, EDWARD SNOWDEN'S LEGAL ADVISER: Well, I should say that that first image that you just showed of the world being introduced to

Edward Snowden was also my own introduction to Edward Snowden. I didn't know his name or his face until that day as well.

Some weeks later, when had as you said left Hong Kong and was stranded in the transit zone in the airport in Moscow, I was put in contact with

Edward Snowden by the journalist Slora Portris (ph) and Glen Greenwald, because they recognized that he needed legal coordination of his case in

the United States.

LU STOUT: Now, Edward Snowden is under temporary asylum in Russia. He is a very wanted man in the United States. How exactly are you and your

legal team talking to him and weighing Snowden's next move?

WIZNER: Well, look, we understand that no kind of communication is 100 percent secure. If we learned anything in the last year, we learned

that not just the NSA, but other spy agencies are very ,very capable. We do the best we can to use the most secure kinds of communications that we

can and we do that so that we can both help him achieve the best outcome for himself -- we hope that he'll return to the United States some day, but

if not to get asylum in a country other than Russia -- but also to help him to participate in this really extraordinary and unprecedented global debate

about surveillance that he helped to launch.

LU STOUT: You say that you hope that he'll be able to return to the United States one day. Do you believe that he will be able to return to

the U.S. at one point?

WIZNER: I do. I think that if history tells us anything is that whistleblowers are generally treated kindly and claims of national security

much less so. The most famous American whistleblower before now, Daniel Ellsberg, was called many worse words than Snowden has been called. And

the Nixon administration at the time said that harm to national security would be grave and irreversible.

Now those national security claims turned out to be unfounded. And Daniel Ellsberg is now viewed in the United States and around the world as

a hero.

Edward Snowden is already viewed as a hero in large parts of the world and by many in the United States. I think that as time goes on, and we

begin to absorb the impact of what we've learned about mass surveillance and free societies, that view of him will only grow. And the idea that

someone who did what he did should be rewarded for that with years in a prison cell will seem more and more absurd.

LU STOUT: You made the comparison there with Daniel Ellsberg who was a whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers back in the day.

I also wanted to get your impression of Edward Snowden then. For example, in a recent interview with NBC News that took place in Moscow.

Snowden says that he worked as a spy at all levels. So I'm curious in your back and forth interaction with him, do you get that sense that he had that

very high access and high authority while he was working for the NSA despite his relative youth?

WIZNER: Well, I will say this he is extraordinarily thoughtful and knowledgeable about the programs that the journalists have written about.

You know, this is someone who thought carefully about what information he thought the public ought to know, thought carefully about which journalists

he wanted to work through.

Also keep in mind that, you know, the number of documents that Edward Snowden has released himself to the public is zero. He gave information to

journalists. He told them that they and their editors in consultation with government should decide what was in the public interest to publish and not

to publish what wasn't.

He knows a lot about these programs. He had enough access from where he sat to see that this massive mass surveillance system had been deployed

without any public consent.

You know, his view is he wanted this information to be shared with the public. You know, whether that leads to reforms is really up to us more

than it's up to him.

LU STOUT: You are Edward Snowden's legal counsel. I can tell that you admire Edward Snowden. Do you think that Snowden should be a role

model or a template for future government whistleblowers?

WIZNER: Well, I think that he followed previous government whistleblowers. Again, the model that he followed was to give information

to the public through journalists. This happens on a daily basis in Washington and in other capitals around the world -- maybe not on the same

scale -- but if we only knew what governments wanted us to know -- in the United States, for example, we would not have known about torture at Abu

Ghraib. We would not have known that the CIA had secret prisons in Europe and around the world where they rendered terrorism suspects. We wouldn't

have known what had gone on inside Guantanamo Bay.

We know these things because people without authorization shared them with journalists who shared them with the public. That's the model that

Edward Snowden followed.

Now granted, he did it on a much larger scale, but the systems that he's revealing were themselves on such a broad scaled that he believed that

dramatic action was necessary.

LU STOUT: And a final question for you, sir. The next NSA leak, what should we expect to hear and when?

WIZNER: Well, I can tell you with complete honesty that I have no idea and neither does Edward Snowden, because Edward Snowden placed those

decisions in the hands of journalists. He himself is not controlling these stories. He doesn't even have access to the documents themselves. He

handed them to journalists and said that they should steer the ship, they should decide what the public should see and when. So we'll just have to

wait and see.

LU STOUT: All right, Ben Wizner, ACLU director and Edward Snowden's legal adviser, thank you so much for joining us here on CNN News Stream.

Take care.

WIZNER: Thanks, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Now coming up next right here on News Stream, it has been almost two months since the South Korean ferry disaster. And authorities

believe that this man is connected to the tragedy, but he is nowhere to be found. We'll bring you that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now we have this just into CNN. The Syrian news agency Sanaa reports that President Bashar al-Assad has issued a general amnesty for crimes

committed before today.

Now the decree, it commutes a death sentence to life with hard labor. And those serving life will see their term reduced to 20 years.

Now the decree also grants amnesty to foreigners who, quote, entered Syria with the purpose of joining a terrorist group if they turn themselves

in.

Now two new leaders are taking the helm of two troubled nations. Over the weekend former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was sworn in as the

president of Egypt and Billionaire Petro Poroshenko took the presidential oath of office in Ukraine. Both face major challenges ahead.

Now in Egypt, Mr. el-Sisi wants to bring down surging unemployment and inflation rates following Egypt's ongoing political turmoil.

Now meanwhile, Mr. Poroshenko is trying to stop near daily clashes in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russia separatists have been battling government

troops. He has agreed to hold talks with a Russian envoy to try to ease the tensions.

And now this video, it may not strike you anything special, but it shows Philippine and Vietnamese soldiers in a friendly match of volleyball.

Now just some typical weekend fun you might say, but this is no typical sports ground. It's one of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China

Sea. An Isle that is claimed by both Vietnam and China and others.

And this display of friendship, it comes at a time of flaring territorial tensions with China.

In fact, just last month China erected an oil rig in contested waters near the Spratlies. And that triggered a marine faceoff between Chinese

and Vietnamese vessels, and later the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat.

Now China's foreign ministry is not impressed by the display of unity between Hanoi and Manila. In fact, a spokesperson called their island

gathering, quote, a clumsy farce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUA CHUNGYING, CHINA FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN (through translator): China has irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands

and the surrounding waters. We demand that the Philippines and Vietnam stop any behavior that picks a quarrel and causes trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now China and Vietnam both assert claims on the entire Spratly chain, while the Philippines claims part of it.

At nearly two months after the tragic sinking of a South Korean ferry, authorities are still trying to find justice for the nearly 300 victims.

They are searching for the fugitive businessman linked to the company that owned and operated the ferry.

Paula Hancocks has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was once known as the millionaire without a face, but this wanted poster issued by South

Korean police gives Yoo Byong-un (ph) many faces, possible disguises of a 73 year old that police say is on the run.

A nationwide manhunt is underway for this reclusive businessman. Prosecutors believe he and his family control the company that owns the

Sewell ferry.

That ferry sank in April leaving more than 300 people, mainly schoolchildren, dead or missing.

Yoo is wanted for questioning in connection with the investigation. A South Korean court has issued a warrant for his arrest, but he has not been

charged.

Yoo's representative said in a statement in April, "Mr. Yoo does not have any involvement in the management or day-to-day operations of

Chonghaeijin Marine Company, which operated the ferry."

But one lawmaker tells CNN prosecutors have clear evidence linking him to the company, but is not revealing what that evidence is.

"If you look at the company's shareholders," he says, "Yoo Byong-un (ph) is not named as one of them, but it's very clear he owns the company

through his sons and close aids. Yoo is called a chairman and receives a salary of about $15,000 a month."

Investigators believe unsecured and overloaded cargo on board may have been one cause of the accident as well as modifications made to the ship to

increase passenger capacity.

CNN is unable to contact Yoo for a response. His aids tell us they don't know where he is.

Prosecutors say Yoo and three of his children are ignoring arrest warrants and evading capture. One daughter was detained in Paris last week

in connection with the ferry disaster. South Korea is seeking her extradition.

President Park Guen-hye has accused Yoo of mocking the law and causing public outrage instead of facing the people to apologize and tell the

truth.

The religious group Yoo co-founded, the Evangelical Baptist Church, was raided last month. South Korean authorities believe Yoo may have been

hiding inside. He wasn't.

And forensic teams combed through this villa in the southwest of the country believed to have belonged to Yoo. But no fingerprints of the

businessman were found.

Officials are offering a reward of half a million dollars to anyone giving information that leads to Yoo's arrest, although prosecutors admit

they're not even certain he is still in this country. Without him, their investigation into allegations of embezzlement, tax evasion and other

irregularities they say may have contributed to the sinking of this ferry is stalled.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: This is News Stream. And still to come, a blinding sandstorm his China's northwest region. We've got all the details from the

world weather center after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

And time for your global weather forecast. We have video of another blinding sandstorm in China. Let's get the details now with Mari Ramos.

She joins us from the World Weather Center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie.

You know, springtime is really the time of year when we tend to see the sandstorms affecting northern parts of China, but to have one every

week, well that is a bit unusual.

The area that we're talking about this time around is far northwestern China. Look at these wind gusts that were reported here, over 100

kilometers per house across these areas as this massive sandstorm was blowing across this entire region affecting millions of people.

Let's go ahead and roll the video because it is pretty impressive.

You know, day really turns into night. What happens is we have these fronts that come through. As they go over the desert areas, they pick up

this sand. There's nothing out there to really stop this from happening. There's some people say, you know, growing of the -- expansion of the

deserts of this region is making this situation worse every time.

But you can see that man there walking, sometimes even barely able to stand up. Very dangerous conditions. That sand, even if you have your

windows and your doors closed, seeps through everything, so even inside the homes you tend to see a lot of this.

Trees came down, power lines came down, some people were left without power temporarily as that storm was moving through.

Come back over to the weather map. Let's see what else we got.

That's the front right over here. You can see it continuing to trail along now.

Quiet weather as we head across much of the eastern portions of Asia, but again the potential for some very heavy rain coming along here as we

head cross the south. We were talking about this last week, they've had significant flooding in this region. Any amount of rain that falls here

could again cause some flooding, so definitely something to monitor.

Hong Kong, I think you should be OK. You're a little bit on the drier end as far as the rainfall is concerned. But that also means warm

temperatures for you, 30 degrees right now, 32 in Hanoi.

The really hot weather continues to be across the subcontinent. This is in Lahore. It was a crowded day at the swimming hole definitely . And

you can see that from this picture.

When -- you know, when you're looking at temperatures that are easily in the upper 40s you really have to find a way to try to stay cool.

So this will remain like this up until we begin to see some sort of relief from the monsoon rains. And the monsoon has started already, but of

course it hasn't reached areas here farther to the north. So even in New Delhi 47 degrees for the daytime high. This is dangerous heat that will be

affecting this area.

One thing to point out right here -- so here's India. There's the monsoon, you can begin to see the rain there. But right out here in the

Arabian Sea, medium chance for development. This means this is something we have to watch for the potential that it could become our next tropical

cyclone.

One more thing before we go. With the last 30 seconds, across Europe the heat building up quite a bit again. Not as hot in Berlin today,

probably it was yesterday -- it was 34 yesterday for your daytime high.

Paris, you're at 25, that's because again you have the potential for what you see here, hail. Kristie, this picture is from the weekend, but

it's still so amazing to see so much hail in Brussels. This was during a match.

And the areas to watch today for the potential of that severe weather are widespread. The areas in pink are the most dangerous ones with heavy

rains, severe winds and, yes, again the potential for hail.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: Incredible. From hail to punishing heat, severe weather indeed. Mari Ramos there. Thank you.

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

END