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World Refugee Numbers Hit 60 Year High; England In Danger Of Crashing Out Of World Cup; World Cup Protests Set To Mark Anniversary; Controversy Over Japanese Apology For Comfort Women; Floods In Bulgaria Turn Deadly; American 11-year-old Becomes Youngest Ever To Compete At Women's U.S. Open

Aired June 20, 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.

U.S. President Barack Obama is promising more support for Iraq's fight against Sunni militants.

And as more Iraqis flee the violence, we take a look at the plight of refugees around the world on this World Refugee Day.

Plus, England could be heading for an early exit from the World Cup after a double from Uruguay star Luis Suarez.

Now the wave of violence engulfing Iraq is drawing the United States military back in. President Obama has announced that the U.S. will send up

to 300 military advisers to assess how much of a threat the Sunni militants pose.

But he has ruled out sending combat troops to help Iraq fight the Islamist militants who have taken over many parts of the country.

Now security is extremely tight in the Iraqi capital. And recent days ISIS fighters advanced some 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. Nic Robertson

is there. He joins me now live with the very latest.

Nic, what is the latest on the ISIS advance?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest that we've heard is during the Friday prayers today when Grand Ayatollah Ali al-

Sistani, the most important Shia cleric, had a message for Iraq, as last week of course his call that people should stand up and fight ISIS, has led

to the formation in this past week of Shia dominated militias, some of them with a very brutal and bloody past.

He clarified some of that today. He said all people volunteering should join the Iraqi security forces, the army. He said that everyone

should be patient with the political process, of a constitutional time frame for forming a new government. People should be patient with that.

That does, perhaps -- is perhaps the most important thing that he said, because he's getting into political issues here. As a religious

leader, he tends to stay out of that. And of course it is the religious leaders who are the ones who are most likely to have an influence over Nuri

al-Maliki on whether or not he decides to step down as a prime minister, let somebody else take over the leadership, which of course essentially why

President Obama, and David Cameron, the British prime minister, are calling for.

And many people in this country calling for too, because they think Nuri al-Maliki, rather than being part of the solution now he's part of the

problem, that he created the crisis by developing sectarian policies here, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Nic, there is this growing call from the west and also in the Arab world for the Iraqi prime minister to go. Your thoughts on

Nuri al-Maliki. Can he unit the country, or does Iraq need another leader?

ROBERTSON: Most independent analysts looking in from the outside tend to say there needs to be change. Certainly Nuri al-Maliki has a base of

support here. His party was the most popular in the recent elections a few weeks ago. However, his actions since the crisis developed have been --

have essentially alienated even those people who were sort of on the fence about him.

Many Sunnis, as we see, have taken up arms. Their dissatisfied with him. That's how dissatisfied they are. That didn't happen overnight.

That's happened over a period of time.

So it does seem that really it is -- that some other politician can build the bridges that Nuri al-Maliki can no longer build. There are

Sunnis that in their own constituencies could not be seen making a deal with Nuri al-Maliki, because of the way that he's perceived and of his

actions.

So it seems that even if he decided really to turn 180 degrees, which he hasn't done, it would be a tough call. So, it seems to be headed in

that direction.

But he is a tough leader. And he has stayed -- he has stayed in power not through bending to other people's wishes. So there's no indication

that he is about to move on, Kristie.

LU STOUT: But the pressure is definitely on the Iraqi prime minister. Nic Robertson reporting live from Baghdad, thank you.

Now Australia has announced it will block the return of dozens of citizens who have left the country to fight in Iraq and Syria. Now

Canberra says any returning fighters will be taken into detention because of the security threat they pose.

Now Britain has also pledged a crackdown on nationals traveling to the region to fight.

Now the crisis in Iraq has forced more than a million people from their homes. We'll have more on the plight of refugees later in the

program.

Now in Syria, at least 34 people have been killed and dozens wounded by a car bomb early on Friday.

Now the state run news agency says that the bomb went off in the town of al Hurra in Hamaa Province.

This video was posted on YouTube on an account listed as the Islamic front claiming the bomb had been targeting an Assad militia group.

Now CNN cannot independently verify the authentic y of the footage.

Now Israeli soldiers are accused of shooting and killing a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank town of Dura (ph) near Hebron. And Palestinian

hospital sources say that the boy died after being shot in the chest during clashes that broke out after an overnight raid.

Now there have been belts of unrest in the West Bank since Israeli forces began searching for three Israeli teenagers who went missing last

week. So far, Israeli authorities have arrested hundreds of Palestinians.

And for more on the situation developing in the West Bank, Ben Wedeman joins me now live from Hebron.

And Ben, still no trace of the missing teens and the tension is rising.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The tension is intense at this point, but it the search has been going on now for eight days. At

this point, more than 330 Palestinians have been detained as part of this effort, more than 1,000 homes have been searched. It appears that the

Israeli forces are in operation around the clock. But oftentimes, as we've seen, when they show up in Palestinian towns and Villages, there are very

often clashes, which result.

As you mentioned over night in al Dura (ph), the death of one teenager. We understand that two teenagers were also -- or rather two

Palestinians were also critically injured in clashes in the Ramallah area north of Jerusalem as well.

But at this point, no sign whatsoever where these three Israeli teenagers are. And the army and the Israeli government has made it clear

that this operation, the search operation also has another purpose, which is to crack down on Hamas's presence in the West Bank as well.

Most of those detained are activists with the Hamas organization and certainly when you speak to people who have been interrogated and

questioned by the Israelis, they say they don't ask many questions about the missing boys, but it's very much about Hamas and its political and

military infrastructure in the West Bank -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Now, Ben, Israel has been accused of collective punishment against the Palestinians in its response. How does Israel defend its

tactics?

WEDEMAN: Well, the Israelis say that this is simply part of the operation and that if there's inconvenience to the Palestinians that's the

price they pay (inaudible) Israeli media (inaudible) kidnapping took place.

But the problem is that life is already difficult enough in the West Bank, that with curfews and closures and searches and whatnot, life is

becoming even more difficult. And as a result, people on the Palestinian side are very angry and feel that they're paying the price for the acts of

a very small number of people who were behind the abduction.

LU STOUT: Ben Wedeman reporting live on the line from Hebron. Thank you, Ben.

Now Ukraine's president says he will unveil a plan today to end fighting in the eastern part of the country.

Now Petro Poroshenko is offering a unilateral ceasefire and amnesty to rebels who disarm.

This, as Ukraine's parliamentary speaker says the military has just completed an operation to seal off the country's border with Russia.

Now President Poroshenko says the ceasefire plan will only go ahead if Ukraine's border with Russia is secure.

Now violent unrest in the country's east, it shows no sign of abating. Government forces say 300 rebels and seven Ukrainian troops were killed in

heavy fighting today.

Now still ahead right here on News Stream, forced to become a sex slave for the Japanese military. We'll hear the true story of one South

Korean girl in World War II graphic even in animation.

Plus, an update on the dramatic rescue of the man injured at the bottom of Germany's deepest cave. The latest from the explorer himself.

And it was a rough day for England at the World Cup. We'll tell you where things stand and look ahead to Friday's matches.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now England's World Cup hopes are all but dashed after that crushing 2-1 loss to Uruguay on Thursday. Now Liverpool star Luis Suarez scored

both goals for the winners. Wayne Rooney scored England's only goal, but missed on other good chances.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Colombia secures a spot in the knockout round with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast still alive in Group D.

And in the other Group D match Greece held Japan to a scoreless draw despite playing more than 50 minutes down a man.

Now England's fate could be sealed after the first of today's three matches. Now anything other than a Costa Rican loss in their match against

Italy eliminates England. And if there's a winner, that team will advance.

Switzerland and France, they co-lead Group E. A winner here would be prime position to go to the next round.

And Friday's other Group E contest features Honduras and Ecuador. And both of them are in desperate need of a victory.

So, all eyes next on Costa Rica versus Italy. Fred Pleitgen is in Rio de Janeiro. He joins us now live. And Fred, Italy, Costa Rica, England's

fate hinges on this match. How will it go down?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of England fans who are certainly going to be keeping a close eye

on that match between Costa Rica and Italy. Presumably, it'll be a very good one. Both teams played great opening matches. The Italians played

very secure. Mario Balotelli was very, very good in that game against England. Of course the Italians are going to be leaning very heavily on

him.

The other big question is how fit Gianluigi Buffon, their worldclass goalkeeper, is going to be.

And then in the Costa Rican side, they also played a great game against Uruguay, certainly a surprise that side a great deal. They have

Joel Campbell who we'll wait and see whether or not he can put on a performance like he did in the first match.

So, what we're looking for is going to be a very fast-paced game, a very good game, and of course one that a lot of fans are going to be

looking at because of course England's chances hinge on who wins or loses that game. And if there's a draw, England is definitely eliminated,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: And something else to keep an eye on, especially there in Rio, today rallies are planned for the one year anniversary of anti-World

Cup protests. So Fred, what should we expect?

PLEITGEN: Well, we're expecting quite big protests here in Rio. the latest that we've checked, it seems as though about 7,000 people could at

least be coming to a big demonstration here, which is going to be happening in downtown Rio. We'll wait and see what happens there.

As you say, it's the one year anniversary of the climax of the big demonstrations that happened last year when of course hundreds of thousands

went to the streets not only here in Rio, but in many other cities as well.

Back then the protests were about social issues, now a lot of the protests are about social issues that are linked to the World Cup. And one

of the big issues here in this country is the fact that many people were evicted because their houses were close to the venues where construction

was going on for the venues.

We managed to meet a group of indigenous people yesterday who were evicted from right here around the Maracana. And have a look at the

appalling conditions that they're staying in now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Right next to Rio's famous Maracana Stadium, this mansion is decaying in the Brazilian rain, its inhabitants evicted.

They're some of the country's indigenous people, or Indios, part of the proud Tukano tribe now forced to live in these containers.

Chief Doethyro says authorities were ruthless evicting the Indios.

"The removal was very sudden and very violent," he says. "It was not done in a respectful way. We tried to talk to them to do it in a

respectful way, but instead they sent the riot police."

This social media video shows the police operation against the Indios in March of last year. They staged a protest to remain on the land, but

that was crushed by security forces.

They've been in the containers for more than a year, struggling to stay dry when it rains, cooking in this basic kitchen, and with trash

piling up inside the premises.

The closest any of them have come to benefiting from the World Cup is carving whistles they sell to tourists.

"When we're in a place this crammed, it feels like we're in a jail," he said. "It's very hard to live this way."

Their containers are more than an hour away from Rio in this desolate place.

This compound is a former leprosy treatment center with a hospital and a lepers colony. It's currently being disbanded. And many of the

buildings are in absolute disrepair. But there are still lepers who are being treated here.

Rio de Janeiro's state government says the eviction were (inaudible) to finish the Maracana venue and that there was a court order for them.

Federal authorities say they will provide permanent housing for the tribe soon.

But the Tukano have been here for more than a year and feel bitter about the way they've been treated.

"We would like the World Cup to show the culture of the Indios in Brail," the chief says, "because even in Menaus, in the middle of the

Amazon and here in Rio, we are hidden and we are forgotten."

Isolated in containers far away from their home, the Tukano tribe is trying to keep their issue in the public eye, hoping they can leave here

soon if Brazil's government keeps its word.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Kristie, and we were pretty speechless when we saw the conditions that the natives there were living under. And one of the things

that we have to say is that even though we haven't seen that many protests, their not that big protests around the World Cup just yet, a lot of these

social issues, the underlying issues, many of the things that people are angry here in this country still have not been resolved -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and it's incredible and shameful to see these people, these families forced to live in shipping containers. Fred Pleitgen on the

story for us, reporting live from Rio. Thank you, Fred.

And don't forget to talk to the World Sport team on Twitter, use the hashtag #CNNWorldCup during the games. Also following the debate for you

on Facebook and Instagram. Check out CNN's Facebook Pulse.

Now it has been one month since Thailand's military carried out a coup and took power. And after the break, we take a look at the country now and

how the military is waging a charm offensive to win hearts and minds in a deeply divided country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now footage of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in Japan, it's sparking outrage and highlighting what many say is a persistent and deep rooted

problem in the country -- sexual harassment.

Will Ripley reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A jaw dropping outburst during this meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

Visibly shaken, assembly members Ayaka Shiomura struggles to keep her composure. Male members from an opposing party are heard heckling her off

camera as she calls for more services for women.

"You better get married quickly," one man shouts.

Shioumura says another yelled, "can't you even bear a child?"

"Heckles kept coming, one after another," she says.

Shiomura finished the speech with tears in her eyes and her voice breaking. She later posted on Facebook it was like a punch in he gut.

"I want whoever did this to come forward," she says.

The outburst if fueling outrage on the streets of Tokyo.

"I couldn't believe how the men responded," says this man.

This woman says, "I'm so embarrassed by the lack of decency among Japanese men.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says women in the workforce are under utilized and under paid. Here in Japan, women earn 30 percent less

than men.

Abe has a plan called Womenomics to equalize giant gender gaps in pay and power.

But even in his own central government, women hold just 3 percent of management jobs. Abe wants 30 percent by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

These heckles about getting married and having children are a jarring reminder of a widely held fear in Japan, a fear that fertility rates will

fall further if more women focused less on family and more on career, a social stigma so strong, not even powerful women elected into office are

immune.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now it has been one month now since Thailand's military seized power in a coup after months of protests and political unrest.

Now then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was removed from office by a court ruling. She was briefly replaced by an interim prime minister

before he, too, was ousted in the military's General Prayuth Chan-ocha took charge.

The constitution was scrapped, activists and some political leaders were arrested and martial law was imposed.

A curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. was only lifted last week. And CNN was temporarily taken off the air.

Now General Prayuth said that these measures were necessary to restore law and order, but the military has not yet given any clear any indication

of when they will return power to the people and hold new elections.

In the meantime, Thailand's army has been trying to bolster public support with a happiness campaign. It's been handing out free movie

tickets, staging street parties all in an apparent bid to boost the national mood.

Now David Streckfuss is a historian and an expert on Thai politics, he joins us now from Phnom Penh in Cambodia. David, thank you for joining us

here on CNN News Stream.

Just how intense is this happiness PR campaign?

DAVID STRECKFUSS, HISTORIAN: Well, it is pretty strong. It does have movies and concerts and recently the military paid more than $2 million so

that they could buy the rights so that everyone could watch the World Cup games. So, it seems pretty intense, but I don't think it's really the

focus of the (inaudible) right now.

It's been talking about how to bring happiness in terms of trying to solve the conflict that's faced Thailand lately.

LU STOUT: Yeah, this happiness propaganda blitz, is it actually working? Is it winning over the people of Thailand?

STRECKFUSS: Well, I wouldn't -- you know, it's very hard to say now, because it's -- because if you criticize the coup you can spend up to two

years in jail. So when there are polls done and people say are you satisfied or happy you are under the coup, the military coup group itself

says that the people are happy with the coup, but it's very hard to assess.

LU STOUT: And as it wages this happiness campaign, is the Thai military also cracking down on dissent and also on possible voices of

dissent? And is that the reason why you, an academic, you're based right now in Cambodia?

STRECKFUSS: No, I just happened to have some work I had to do in Cambodia.

But it is of a concern to academics right now. There have been a number of academics who have been called in, sometimes hour long

conversation about maybe something they've been saying publicly, or some activities they've been involved in. But they've taken a particularly

strong focus -- strong interest in scholars that have tried to change or amend the Les magistate (ph) law in Thailand, which has one of the most

severe punishments for free expression crimes in the world right now with up to 15 years in jail for each count.

LU STOUT: Now, fear of a crackdown has led to -- and this has been well documented in the press recently -- led to over 100,000 Cambodian

migrant workers fleeing Thailand, leaving in droves. What's the back story here and what does the Thai military saying about that?

STRECKFUSS: Well, I mean, in the last decade, there have been up and down relationships between Cambodia and Thailand. Cambodia is perceived as

having supporting Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister who was removed in the 2006 coup and has backed the party that have won since.

But, you know, part of the happiness campaign has been an ultra nationalist movie -- showing of ultra nationalist movies. And that's

created a sense of fear for foreigners living in Thailand, including Cambodians.

So when the military said that they were going to crack down on illegal immigrants, it caused a panic amongst Cambodians. And they fled.

And 200,000 plus have fled in the last week.

LU STOUT: And when there was fear, there was panic, there is also rumors swirling around. The Thai military has been forced to deal with

rumors, rumors about cracking down on Migrant workers, even a rumor that somehow the Thai military was responsible for the Facebook outage

yesterday, which it later had to deny. How long will the Thai military be in this position?

STRECKFUSS: Well, I think it's hard to predict. They're being very ambiguous about how long they might be in power.

I think the main thing is that they're trying to take Thailand back to a different era completely and trying to draw back on any of the democratic

gains that have been had over the last decade. So, you know, whenever they feel that elections have become meaningless, they will have elections.

They have shown that they're not going to be having a very representative body making up a new constitution. And they won't put it up

for a referendum as they did in 2007 showing that they really fear the majority of the population who quite possibly are opposed to the coup and

what it's trying to do.

LU STOUT: All right, David Streckfuss joining us live. Thank you so much for joining us here on CNN just telling us in Thailand where things

are at one month after the Thai coup. Thank you and take care.

Now you are watching News Stream. Still ahead, if it seems that every day everywhere people are fleeing a new crisis, stay with us. We will show

you the sobering reality for millions of people around the world.

Also ahead, the harrowing story of tens of thousands of children who are sent across the U.S. border all by themselves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States is prepared to send up to 300 military advisers to Iraq, but he's also ruled out sending

any combat troops. Now Iraq has been stunned by the rapid advance of Islamist militants who have taken over a number of cities in the country's

north and west and continue to threaten the capital Baghdad.

Israeli soldiers have shot dead a Palestinian teenager, that's according to reports from medical sources. It happened during an overnight

raid in the down of Dura in the West Bank. Now Israeli forces have been carrying out a massive search operation for three abducted Israeli teens.

Reports out of Lebanon say a suicide car bomber killed at least one other person and wounded dozens at a security checkpoint. It happened on

the main highway between Beirut and Damascus, Syria. Now sources say the head of Lebanon's general security agency had passed through the checkpoint

shortly before the explosion.

Now the political and security crisis in Iraq has fast trickled down to communities and to families. Now today, Friday, is World Refugee Day.

And many people in Iraq have suddenly found themselves having to pick up and go somewhere, because of the unrelenting violence.

Mohammed Jamjoom is watching the situation unfold from neighboring Lebanon. He joins me now live from Beirut. And Mohammed, ISIS has

displaced more than a million Iraqi civilians in just a matter of days. Please break down this crisis for us.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kristie.

It seems that almost overnight because of the crisis in Iraq you now have over a million people in Iraq that are displaced, that's a doubling of

the number of displaced people in Iraq that was just the case only a couple of weeks ago. It is a massive crisis. And it seems that it is only

getting worse.

What we know so far, to break down some of the numbers for you, that just out of Mosul, there have been at least 500,000 people that have fled

that are now displaced. Out of Anbar, at least 480,000 people, almost another half a million people just from Anbar displaced and fleeing that

province as well, trying to find a safe haven; in cities like Tal Afar, at least 84,000 people. This really is a crisis in the making.

Today is World Refugee Day. I was at a press conference held by UNHCR just a few hours ago. They talked about how concerned they are about

what's happening in Iraq right now. They also talked about the fact that in 2013, over 51 million people around the world were forcibly displaced

because of violence, because of conflict. They say that this is the highest number of people that have been displaced. This is the first time

that there's been over 50 million people displaced since the end of the World War II, so that really goes to show just how bad the situation is.

And the concern is right now what is going to happen in Iraq if there is a massive outflow of people from that country, because of the crisis

there -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Mohammed Jamjoom reporting live for us on this new refugee crisis in Iraq. Mohammed, thank you very much indeed for that.

Now the human rights group Amnesty International says that millions of people are fleeing their homes as a direct result of the UN security

council's spectacular failures. These include long debates, vetoed resolutions and delays in deploying peacekeepers. Now the group's director

for global issues says this, quote, that "apathy, political alliances and point-scoring must cease trumping human rights concerns and when it comes

to decision-making at the UN security council."

And what's more is that the group says world powers are the worst contributors to the global refugee crisis. It uses Syria as an example

where Russia and China resettled zero refugees in 2013, the United States resettled just 36.

Let's stay in Syria for a moment. Now the UNHCR and its partners say that there are now 2,874,000 registered Syrian refugees. Overwhelmingly,

most of them are still in the region.

Now Lebanon has documented more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees. Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt are hosting hundreds of thousands of

families as well. And the governments all say the actual burden is much higher than these numbers reflect.

On top of this, it is estimated that 6.5 million people inside Syria have been displaced from their homes.

With civil war still raging, the UN says many of these people are desperate for shelter, medical assistance and just the most basic household

items.

That is the picture in Syria this World Refuge Day. But globally, the UNHCR says that the situation is even more dire. It says that at the end

of this year -- or rather the end of last year, the number of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people worldwide reaching 51.2

million. That's the highest number in the post world war era.

Now besides Syria, conflicts in central Africa also drove up the tally from 2012 by more than 6 million.

And across the Atlantic, the United States is dealing with a humanitarian crisis of its own. U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to

Mexico's president on Thursday about how to address the rising tide of unaccompanied migrant children coming to the U.S. from Central American

countries.

Now close to 50,000 have come over in just the past year, that's according to the U.S. government.

Now Vice President Joe Biden, he is about to sit down with leaders in Guatemala today to discuss a joint approach to this issue.

Now President Obama has called it an urgent humanitarian crisis. Many of the children streaming into the U.S. are from Honduras.

Now CNN caught up with one teenager who described her harrowing tale in search of a better life.

Now Alina Mochado now has Anna's story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This 17-year-old is one of the thousands of undocumented children who have traveled alone from

Central America to the United States. We're calling her Anna because she does not want to be identified. She says she wanted to escape gangs and

crime in Honduras.

(voice over): And the crime rate is pretty right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes it's difficult. There's a lot of crime everywhere.

MACHADO: The violence reached her family in 2011 when she says her older brother was murdered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's difficult to remember those things because it's very painful.

MACHADO: Those same gangs, Anna says, later started pressuring her to join. Ultimately threatening her life, her sister in Miami arranged to get

her out -- the price -- $6,000. In early February she boarded a bus, the first of many, with 11 strangers from Honduras.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we started leaving on bus, on bus, on bus, suffering a lot.

MACHADO: She says she was the youngest of the group, one of three women.

You're just a child at 17.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course.

MACHADO: Were you scared. She was not only scared, but hungry and thirsty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They didn't give us anything. We ran, hiked through mountains, without resting.

MACHADO: Anna was constantly moving, traveling by bus, trailers, even by foot. She made it to Mexico. It was there that an already difficult

journey took a horrific turn for the worse .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It never crossed my mind, never that this was going to happen to me, that this was going to be painful.

MACHADO: Tears run down her face as she describes how she was separated from the group and gang raped by strangers for several hours.

CNN does not identify victims of rape who wish to remain anonymous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was raped. Several people grabbed me. It was very difficult. Several people grabbed me and threatened me and told me if

I said something, if I screamed, they were going to kill me and I was going to stay in that place.

MACHADO: She says her thoughts during this very dark time turned to her hopes and dreams for the future, the very reasons why she left her home

in Honduras. The following morning Anna was moved to several other locations, getting closer to the border. A few days later, U.S. authorities

detained her as she walked into Texas. Did you feel any sense of security?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first, no. I didn't feel secure because I was fearful. But eventually, yes, I felt protected.

MACHADO: In early April, two months after her nightmarish journey began, Anna reunited with her sister in Miami.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember it a lot. I felt very happy.

MACHADO: Today she lives in South Florida. Her attorney tells us Anna plans to seek asylum. For now she's working on her English, on healing and

on building a new life far from home.

Alina Machado, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, Japan stokes tensions with South Korea over the result of Tokyo's investigation

into its 1993 apology for the use of sex slaves in war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now Japan has unveiled a review of its apology over the use of women across Asia as wartime sex slaves, or comfort women as they were

known. This review, it concludes the so-called Kono Statement was adequate, despite criticism by conservative Japanese politicians.

But it also describes close cooperation with South Korean government on the apology, a revelation that could fuel tensions between Tokyo and

Seoul.

Paula Hancocks reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Forced to become a sex slave for the Japanese military, this is the true story of one Korean

girl during World War II. Graphic, even in animation, this story of Chong Soo-woo highlights the horror of the so-called comfort women. It forms

part of an exhibition in Seoul commemorating the lives of up to 200,000 women, mostly Korean, who were used in this way from 1932 to the end of the

war. Many have since passed away.

Those still alive are calling for an official resolution. Tokyo says a statement made by the government in 1993 already apologized for the

military's action.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said recently he stands by that statement, adding, "I am deeply pained to think of the comfort women who experienced

immeasurable pain and suffering, a feeling I share equally with my predecessors."

But some conservative lawmakers in Japan are calling for a revision of this statement, even questioning comfort women's claims of exploitation.

The organizer of the movement says, "if this were true, we would apologize over and over again, but we cannot remain silent in the face of

groundless attacks. it's time to tell the world this is wrong."

"I know there were comfort women," this woman says, "those who worked as prostitutes in war zones, but I think that was their proper job that

they were paid for."

Statements that infuriate Korean comfort women, some of whom attend a weekly protest outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul, a protest that has

been held for the past 22 years.

"I think they're mad," says Kim Bok-dong (ph). "You can't lie with a sane mind. Maybe they are senile to be saying such absurd things."

Kim says she was transported to half a dozens countries over eight years by the Japanese military from the age of 14.

Time is running out for the so-called comfort women. Only 55 of those who registered with the South Korean government are still alive and most of

those in their 80s and 90s.

U.S. President Barack Obama persuaded the leaders of South Korea and Japan to finally meet in March, easing strained relations. But few believe

the recent lower level meetings on the comfort women issue can significantly narrow differences.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will shortly release the State Department's annual trafficking in persons report. Now

the report aims to measure a country's efforts in fighting modern-day slavery by grading performance on a three tier system. And CNN will bring

that to you live when it happens in the next hour.

Now, let's turn to our landmark series Cold War. And in this weekend's installment, a look at the Cuban Missile crisis. Here's a

preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH BRANAGH, NARRATOR: Castro's pleas inspired the Soviet leader Khrushchev to make a daring offer. He had boasted to the world of Russia's

nuclear strength, but in reality he knew just how limited his long-range missile force really was.

But he did have medium-range nuclear missiles.

GEN. ANATOLY GRIBKOV, COMMANDER, SOVIET FORCES, CUBA (through translator): From the territory of the Soviet Union, they couldn't possibly

reach the territory of the U.S.A., but deployed on Cuba they would become strategic nuclear weapons. That meant in practical terms we had a chance to

narrow the differences between our forces.

PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO, CUBA (through translator): I immediately appreciated the strategic importance of the presence of those missiles in

Cuba. By that time, the Americans had already transported similar missiles to Turkey. I thought, if we expected the Soviets to fight on our behalf, to

run risks for us, and even involve themselves in a war for our sake, it would be immoral and cowardly on our part to refuse to accept the presence

of those missiles here.

BRANAGH: In July 1962, under the nose of the Americans, the first of 150 Soviet ships, loaded with heavily disguised nuclear missiles and over

40,000 troops, sailed for Cuba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Incredible quote from Fidel Castro there. Do tune in this Saturday for the next episode of CNN's landmark series Cold War.

Now tensions run high between east and west as the Berlin Wall is built, beginning nearly three decades of division. That is on the next

Cold War Saturday, 6:00 p.m. here in Hong Kong.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, hitting a putt like this can rattle the nerves of even a veteran, but she is only 11 years old.

We have more on the incredible golfer who is holding her own on a very big stage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

A cave explorer rescued after nearly two weeks deep underground has thanked his rescuers from his hospital bed in Germany.

Now Johann Westhauser was brought to the service of the cave system on Thursday after a very complicated and delicate operation involving dozens

of rescue workers.

Now the 52-year-old injured his head in a fall on June 8 and could not climb back up the steep and narrow shafts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHANN WESTHAUSER, INJURED EXPLORER: I want to heartily thank all comrades who took part in the cave rescue. It was a great operation.

I feel all right. I am content. I have problems with my speech, but I am sure that it will level itself out. It just takes some time to

recover from that whole operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now let's take a closer look at the rescue from the spot the accident happened all the way to the cave entrance is more than 1,000

meters underground.

And getting the injured man back up to the surface, rescuers had to climb through the cave's 19 kilometers of paths.

Overall, the cave is more than 1,100 meters deep. and when you compare that to some of the world's tallest buildings, the Eiffel Tower,

the empire state building, the Patronas Towers, even the Burj Khalifa, they're all smaller than Germany's deepest and largest cave system.

Incredible.

Now time now for your global weather forecast with a focus on the deadly flooding that has hit Bulgaria. Details now with meteorologist

Karen McGinnis. She joins us from the world weather center -- Karen.

KAREN MCGINNIS, CNN METEORLOGIST: Kristine, it has been devastating across this coastal region right along the Black Sea where devastating

floods have occurred over the last several days.

Take a look at some of the rainfall totals in the past 48 hours, over 100 millimeters, that is more than twice the June average.

Here is Varna, this is the Black Sea. All of that moisture just kind of wrapping around an area of low pressure.

Let's show you some pictures out of this region where it has been so extraordinarily deadly. Because of the extreme flooding and the torrential

rainfall, already about a dozen people reported dead, dozens more are missing.

And tens of thousands of people are without power. And Friday is considered a day of mourning.

While Bulgaria isn't the only area that has seen some devastation, take a look at what has happened in Turkey. Now this started out as a

water spout that is over Mamara (ph) and it moved over land. This in a suburb or a neighborhood of Istanbul.

This is all part of the same weather system that has produced some very heavy rainfall, as we just saw wrapped around the Black Sea. As this

moved onshore it did produce quite a bit of damage. There were cars that were tipped over -- there you can see that one pushed up on the sidewalk --

debris from trees and other bushes, also in the water a number of boats were rammed into each other and at least one was sunk.

Take a look at some of the storm reports that we do have out of this region. And we're still expecting gusty winds and the threat of more heavy

weather, including the potential for some thunderstorms.

As that area of low pressure gradually moves towards the north, it isn't just around Bulgaria, but also to Romania, Moldova and into Ukraine.

Temperature wise, we're not seeing anything terribly extreme. We'll keep some cloud cover wrapped around the Black Sea extending over into the

central portions of Europe as well.

It looks like for the most part much of the United Kingdom will see high pressure that will suppress most of that moisture, but we still have

it wrapped around all the way over into Warsaw, Poland where some of that rainfall could be heavy at times.

Temperature wise: in Vienna 23 expected for Saturday, Dublin at 20 and for Kiev 23 degrees. And as I mentioned, we'll keep the rain chances

pretty high there.

Kristie, back to you.

LU STOUT: All right, Karen McGinnis there. Thank you.

Now, she may look like your typical American schoolgirl with her pig tails and braces, but 11-year-old Lucy Li is far from typical. She is the

youngest girl ever to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, which got underway Thursday in North Carolina.

Andy Scholes caught up with the latest prodigy from the golfing world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: 11-year-old Lucy Li is making history. Sporting pigtails and braces, she's the youngest to ever qualify

for a U.S. Women's Open and Lucy is embracing this big stage, despite still being a kid.

LUCY LI, GOLFER: I like everything -- math, science and history. I love doing a lot of things, but reading is my favorite.

SCHOLES: Who could imagine, a sixth grader from California, who's barely 5 feet tall will accomplish something Tiger Woods won't on the golf

course this year. That's tee it up at Augusta National and Pinehurst Number Two.

LI: I mean Pinehurst and Augusta National in two months, I mean that's just amazing. It's mind blowing for me.

SCHOLES: Lucy became serious about the game of golf when she was only seven years old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can your dad beat you?

LI: No.

SCHOLES: All laughter aside, there are varying views if an 11-year- old is too young to compete at the highest level.

STACEY LEWIS, LPGA GOLFER: I'm not a big fan of it. You know, she qualified so we can't say anything about that. You know, you qualify for an

open, it's a great thing, but if you qualify for an open at 11, what do you do next? I don't know. If it was my kid I wouldn't let her play in an open

qualifier at 11 but that's just me.

LEXI THOMPSON, GOLFER: This is what she wants to do for her life, she'll learn off the other players and see what she needs to improve on. I

mean she's 11 years old.

SCHOLES: Regardless of age, Lucy is very carefree about her expectations this week.

LI: I just want to go out there and have fun and play the best I can. I really don't care about the outcome. It's just -- I want to have fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Good on you, Lucy.

Now in round one, Lucy managed to hold her own and she shot an eight over par 78. But she is still very, very much a kid. At the end of her

big day, she spoke to reporters while standing on a crate with an ice cream cone in one hand.

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

END