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NEWS STREAM

East Jerusalem on Lockdown for Abu Khedair Funeral; Cuba Goes Football Mad; Interview with Brazilian Keeper Julio Cesar; Indonesia Presidential Election Preview; Hurricane Arthur Makes Landfall; Jews Leaving France by the Thousands

Aired July 04, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

AMARA WALKER, HOST: I'm Amara Walker at CNN Center. Welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Tensions are high in Jerusalem ahead of the funeral of a Palestinian teenager who was abducted and killed in the city earlier this week.

Also, we speak exclusively to Brazil's goalkeeper. Can Julio Cesar help his country reach the World Cup semifinals?

And candidates face off in Indonesia less than a week before the country's presidential elections.

Let's begin in Jerusalem where tensions are high after Friday prayers and ahead of the funeral for a murdered Palestinian teenager. Mohammad Abu

Khedair was found dead on Wednesday an hour after apparently being bundled into a car and abducted on his way to a mosque.

Police are investigating if the attack was retaliation for the deaths of three Israeli teens whose bodies were found in the West Bank Monday.

Security has been stepped up ahead of the funeral. At least 27 Palestinian protesters were hurt in clashes with Israeli authorities on Thursday and

overnight.

Now the teenager's body has now arrived at a mosque in the Shoafat neighbor in east Jarusalem where the funeral will take place.

Our senior international correspondent Ben WEdeman joining us live from the scene now -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara, about 20 minutes ago, Mohammed Abu Khedair's body arrived. It was carried aloft by

a crowd of hundreds down to his house, which is right behind me. There, the body was washed and now it's being taken into the mosque for prayers.

And from there, it'll be taken to a cemetery here in Shoafat.

Very angry crowd of mourners here, people chanting, chanting against Israel, lots of women crying loudly, the entire community obviously has

come out, and people from other parts of Jerusalem as well. Even though the Israeli police have blocked all vehicle entrances to this neighborhood,

many people came by foot, getting around the Israeli checkpoints.

There's a very large security presence throughout the city at this time. And, for instance, this helicopters flying overhead as well, what

you heard there is just a firecracker. But we're expecting once the -- once the funeral is finished, the body is buried, there will probably be

more clashes in this part of Jerusalem -- Amara.

WALKER: Can you tell us more than about this stuffed up security presence? I know you mentioned earlier about a nearby Mosque where the

Israelis were restricting access to.

WEDEMAN: Yes, I'm referring to the old city, that is the known as the Haram al-Sharif, known as the Temple Mount, where normally on Fridays many

people go to pray. Today, nobody, no males under the age of 50 will be allowed inside the mosque compound, no women under the age of 40. This is

a standard procedure by the Israeli authorities, because obviously that is the third most holy place in Islam. It's a place where people go and

gather. And when there are tensions, there are oftentimes clashes in the old city as well.

So that area entrance has been restricted. Entrance to the old city is being very carefully checked by the Israelis. They've got blimps flying

over -- above the city. There are drones in the air. And throughout the entire city there is a massively upgraded security presence -- Amara.

WALKER: Yeah, very tense situation that could escalate quickly.

Ben, you know, over the last several days we've been hearing about these rocket attacks from Hamas into southern Israel, and Israel saying

that it's reacting or retaliating because of it, launching these air strikes, is there any talk of a ceasefire or anything being done to really

bring down the temperature?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly the statements from Israeli officials yesterday were fairly -- seem to be trying to throw little cold water on

this fire. They said if we will meet quiet with quiet. Hamas is also indicating that they are not interested in an escalation.

Now Israel has reinforced its forces around the Gaza Strip, but statements from Israeli officials would indicate that they do not intend to

launch a largescale operation in Gaza along the lines of what we saw five years ago or in November 2012 as well. The sort of analysis is that Israel

has enough trouble at the moment trying to keep Jerusalem peaceful to have a massive Gaza operation as well would only inflame already obviously

intense concerns about security in order.

WALKER: All right, Ben Wedeman with the very latest there.

As the teen's body has arrived at the Mosque and the funeral set to get underway. Ben Wedeman, thank you.

Well, all sides have condemned the attack on Abu Khedair and that includes the uncle of an Israeli teen who was murdered along with two other

Israeli teens in the West Bank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YISHAI FRANKEL, UNCLE: We call and urge everyone to continue to show this restraint. Any actions should be carried out by our government, by

the legal system, and we call out very clearly to anyone we refrain from revenge. This is not the spirit of our sons, this is not our spirit. Our

spirit is that of kindness, of togetherness, and you know the small people who call for revenge this is very different in diametrically opposed to

what we believe in and what we call for.

(END VIEO CLIP)

WALKER: And of course we'll be keeping a close watch on the volatile situation on Jerusalem and take you back there live later this hour.

To Britain now where a former tabloid editor and aid to the British prime minister has been sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Andy Coulson was found guilty last week of conspiracy to hack phones over a six year period. The scandal led to the closure of Rupert Murdoch's

News of the World tabloid and a public inquiry into British media ethics.

Let's go straight to London now where CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins us live from outside the Old Bailey Courthouse -- Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Amara.

Well, there were five men along with Andy Coulson in the dock here at the Old Bailey in London today. And of those five, Andy Coulson really

receiving the toughest sentence, 18 months in prison out of a possible 24 months maximum sentence. And the judge, well he explained why. He said

that Andy Coulson bears the brunt of the blame for the hacking that went on at the now defunct News of the World.

Of the defendants sitting there on the dock, he said that while there wasn't evidence to suggest that hacking began on Coulson's watch, he said

that there was ample evidence to suggest that the practice increased enormously on Coulson's watch.

Now this decision really seeming to satisfy some of the anti-hacking activists were here outside the courthouse awaiting the decision. Take a

listen to what one had to say to me about why this is important.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN SMITH, ANTI-HACKING ADVOCATE: I don't think the length of the sentence matters very much. I think it's the fact that a court has said

that this is not just unacceptable but against the law. So it means as a society we are saying we don't think that this behavior should happen. And

it will be punished.

So I think it has a symbolic importance which goes beyond the actual length of the sentences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Now the judge also saying that these sentences would have been mitigated had these men showed more remorse in the form of cooperation

with authorities to expose the full extent of the hacking.

Let me just read you a part of his decision. He said, quote, "there is a certain irony seeing men who pride themselves on being distinguished

investigative journalists, who have shed light in dark corners and forced others to reveal truth, being unprepared to do the same for their own

profession."

So what we're really seeing here at this courthouse today in London is a stand against hacking saying that it's not only unethical, but it's

illegal and carries with it some very serious consequences -- Amara.

WALKER: Yeah, Erin, this was a high profile phone hacking scandal. It was a huge media scandal in the UK with the allegations surfacing and

then you had this trial, now the sentencing. How is the public still reacting to all of this?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, I think, you know, as we heard from that anti- hacking activist there is a sense of satisfaction among people who have been following this case very closely, that justice in some sense has been

served, that these sentences have been handed out and that they've identified these practices as illegal and carrying serious prison

sentences.

There was a political scandal that really engulfed Cameron when the jury verdict was read out. David Cameron apologizing not once, but twice

to the British public. That political scandal, though, it seems to be for the most part boiled over even though members of the opposition really

calling into question his judgment, his decision to hire Coulson back in 2007 in the wake of the original hacking scandal and his decision to stand

by him all the way up until the point of 2011 when Andy Coulson resigned as the head of communications at Downing Street.

But keep in mind there is a general election here in this country next year. So it'll be interesting to see if this is brought up again then --

Amara.

WALKER: All right. Thank you for that. Erin McLaughlin live outside the courthouse there.

Well, after a brief break, the World Cup is back and it's back with a bang. European giants France and Germany go head to head in just a few

hours. And we've got a preview from Rio.

And can Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar complete a dramatic turnaround from national scapegoat to World Cup hero? An exclusive

interview with him. That's also coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Welcome back.

After a couple of rest days it's time for the World Cup quarterfinals. And there are just eight teams left. And for the first time all of the

quarterfinalists wont their groups. So we should be left with the strongest eight teams in the tournament.

First up, Germany taking on France in just over three hours from now. And who better to preview the match than our very own German correspondent.

Frederik Pleitgen joins me live from Rio.

All right, so Fred, how are the German players feeling ahead of this match, because we heard these reports that they came down with a bug.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's one player who is not going to be able to participate in the match. It's Sven

Hamel (ph) who is actually a substitute who apparently has some issues. But coach Joachim Low also said yesterday at Germany's pre-game press

conference that apparently there's seven players who have come down with flu-like symptoms who have some pain in their throats. But he said all of

them were able to participate in training and he does believe that all of them are going to be ready to go for this match.

And the really good news for Germany, Amara, is that Mats Hummels, who is Germany's main outside defender, he's going to be able to participate in

this match. He was pulled out of the Algeria game also there with flu-like symptoms. The Germans are saying they believe it's factors like a lot

being in air conditioned spaces a lot, the travel, the difference in the temperatures here in this country are things that might have contributed to

the health issues that some of the German players have. But they do feel they are ready to go for this game.

The French, for their part, also say they're absolutely ready for this match. Of course, a lot for them will depend on how Karim Benzema plays.

But yesterday coach Didier Deschamps said he's absolutely in no fear of this match. He believed that it's a great feat for France to have come this

far at all.

Of course they barely qualified, but have been playing a very, very good World Cup so far, Amara.

WALKER: And Fred there is a lot of history between these two teams. I mean, is there still bad blood after that 1982 World Cup match?

PLEITGEN: I think this game is more of a revenge game for the French than it is for the Germans. I saw a lot more on French media about how

this would be revenge for 1982 and 1986 than I have in German media.

Of course 1982 was that massive game where the French strike Patrick Battiston was about to score a goal and then German goalkeeper Tony

Schumacher came out and gave him that infamous body check, which knocked out three of his teeth and broke several of his ribs. The quote afterwards

when the German goalie was asked about this and confronted with the fact that the French player had lost three of his teeth was if that's all that's

wrong with him then I'll pay for the crowns.

So there is some bad blood between the two sides. There have been some amazing matches in the past, but certainly there is a lot of history

and there will be some looking for revenge.

But in the end these two sides on the pitch are going to have to give it their best to advance to the next round and it should be a very, very

good game with a very -- with two very, very evenly matched sides, Amara.

WALKER: And I'm going to put you on the spot now I know because you are German, Fred. I mean Germany hasn't won the World Cup for 24 years.

So I have to ask you, I mean, how are you feeling about Germany's chances?

PLEITGEN: I think it's really anybody's game. I mean, if you saw the last round, both teams have a lot of trouble against their opponents. The

French scoring very late against the Nigerians, the Germans taking until extra time to top Algeria. The Algerians, of course, probably playing the

best match in their history.

So, it should be a very even game. And I'm not really willing to make a prediction.

However, one of the things that you have know is that Germans are usually at their best when they are pessimistic about their side. So I'll

stick with that.

WALKER: I know that very well being made to a German. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

All right, well later on in the day the hosts Brazil will take on one of the tournament's surprise teams -- Colombia.

Brazil struggled to beat Chile in their last match, but Julio Cesar's heroics in the penalty shootout saw Brazil squeeze through.

Amanda Davies sat down for an exclusive chat with the Brazilian goalkeeper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIO CESAR, BRAZILIAN GOALKEEPER (through translator): We were in a stiuation where we could have been eliminated from the round of 16 in a

world Cup in Brazil. So not only did I get emoational, but so did some of the other members of the team. We know the importance of winning this

World Cup in Brazil not only for ourselves, but for our families, and especially for the fans.

We don't know when Brazil will have another opportunity to host a World Cup.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi much did the support of Luiz Felipe Scolari over the last few years mean to you?

CESAR (through translator): I think it's the primary reason why I'm here today. Eight months ago he gave an inerview saying that regardless if

I was playing or not, I would be playing at the World Cup. So this is something that gives you peace of mind.

DAVIES: And you have played with some of the best footballers on the planet. How good, in your opinion, is Neymar?

CESAR (through translator): You see a 23-year-old in his first World Cup in Brazil taking to the pitch as if he were playing with his friends in

the street. In my opinion, that's the biggest strength. He takes advantage of the fact that he knows that he is good. He know that he

stands out and he is always very relaxed when he takes to the pitch.

I want him to know that I am one of his biggest fans. I don't just admire him as a player but also as a human being outside of football. He's

just like any of other guy and I think his family is the main reason why he has accomplished so much and yet remained humble. I think he's a fantastic

kid.

DAVIES: You are preparing to take on one of the other stars of this World Cup: James Rodriguez. How do you being to think about him and

Colombia?

CESAR (through translator): James si a player that has been amazing everyone. I think that the World Cup gives players the opportunity to

showcase their work to the world and I think James is making the most of it. He's absorbing all of this positivity for the good of his career. For

now, though, I hope that against Brazil he can halt his continued progression as a player until after the tournament has ended, because

Brazil has to win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: We want to take you live now to east Jerusalem, some live pictures there where a funeral is underway. You can see people gather

there outside the Mosque. Tension remains very high as 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khedair, the Palestinian teenager who was abducted and found

dead on Wednesday as his funeral gets underway of course there's a lot of concern as to this becoming a potential flashpoint. A lot anger amongst

Palestinians who believe his death was in revenge for the deaths of three Israeli teenagers this week.

We, of course, will stay on top of the developments there. Ben Wedeman is standing by live. We will make sure to go to him in just a few

minutes.

Coming up here on News Stream, tradition versus change: the world's largest Muslim nation chooses between two very different presidential

candidates. We have more on the upcoming Indonesian election next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: We have some breaking news to bring you now. A London court has just sentenced former television personality Rolf Harris to five years

and nine months in prison. Harris, who is now 84-years-old, was convicted earlier this week of sexually assaulting young girls over two decades.

Harris is the biggest name to go on trial since British police launched an investigation stemming from the case of former BBC host and child sex

abuser Jimmy Saville. He arrived to court today by boat. It was said to avoid the media.

Well, Indonesian voters will head to the polls on Wednesday to pick the next president. Whatever the results, it will send a message loud and

clear about where Indonesia is heading in the next several years. Patricia Wu breaks down the contest between two contrasting candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICIA WU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's an election that is deeply dividing Indonesian voters. In one camp, supporters of former

military general Prabowo Subianto. In the other, those rooting for Joko Widodo, a former furniture exporter turned politician.

Earlier in the race, Widodo was leading in most opinion polls, now the contest is in a virtual dead heat, each contender has an almost equal

chance of winning.

Widodo, more commonly called Jokowi, rose to national fame after winning the election for Jakarta governor in 2012. For seven years, he was

the much admired mayor of the city of Sola (ph) in central Java.

Jokowi is known for his folksy and humble demeanor. He is often on the go, making surprise inspections and talking to people on the ground.

For his admirers, he symbolizes a new breed of leader.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I choose Jokowi, because he's down to earth, honest and truly for the people.

WU: But critics question his ability to lead a nation of 240 million people.

JOKO WIDODO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): The most important thing is track record, secondly a leader should have no tainted

history. So we can be firm, because then we have no vested interests. In order to resolve problems in Indonesia related to rule of law and fighting

corruption, it can only be done by a new figure, not by someone who has been taken hostage by the past.

WU: It's an obvious reference to his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, who has never held public office. He was a special forces commander under the

regime of Suharto (ph), his former father in law, the strong man who led Indonesia for 32 years.

Prabowo is accused of several human rights violations, including the kidnapping of activists during the 1998 mass protests that led to Suharto's

(ph) downfall. He has strongly denied all the allegations.

PRABOWO SUBIANTO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): There are those who are afraid of a Prabowo government. They are afraid of a

clean government. They are afraid of a government that will protect the interests of its own people.

WU: For many of his supporters, Prabowo has all the qualities of a firm and decisive leader. They say that's exactly what the country needs

now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Whatever Prabowo did was in the line of duty. I think he can be a strong leader.

WU: For voters here, it's an important choice between two very different candidates.

TOBIAS BASUKI, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Indonesians are divided on those two sentiments, do we want a traditional

typical leader who had some gains in the (inaudible). We had economic development. Or do we want someone knew, a fresh face that provides new

way of doing things, but we have not seen that before in Indonesian politics.

WU: Voters will have their say in under a week.

Patricia Wu, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And still to come this hour, emotions run high as a funeral is held for a murdered Palestinian teenager. We'll take you there live

next.

And on the road with the anti-terror squad. We join Iraqi security forces in their battle to keep control of Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Hello there. I'm Amara Walker at CNN Center. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Security is tight in Jerusalem as a funeral takes place for a Palestinian boy who was abducted and killed earlier this week.

Palestinians protesting the death clash with security forces overnight Thursday leaving 27 people injured.

Police are investigating if the attack was revenge for the three deaths of Israeli students who were found dead on Monday.

A former tabloid editor and aide to the British prime minister has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Andy Coulson was convicted of

conspiracy to hack phones when he was the editor of News of the World. The scandal lead to the closure of the tabloid and a public inquiry into

British media ethics.

Hurricane Arthur is now moving offshore away from the U.S. state of North Carolina. It made landfall Thursday night as a category 2 hurricane.

And while several thousand homes lost power, there doesn't appear to be much in the way of significant damage. Arthur could hit New England next.

World Cup host Brazil has a tough test when the quarterfinals start today. They play a Colombia team that have won all four of their previous

matches. European powerhouses Germany and France will also play for a spot in the semifinals. Seven German players had flu-like symptoms Thursday.

Let's go back now to Jerusalem where a funeral is being held for a murdered Palestinian teenager. Ben Wedeman is in the Shoafat neighborhood

of east Jerusalem where the ceremony is taking place -- Ben.

WEDEMAN: Yes, Amara, actually the ceremony is over, the body was taken to be buried in a nearby cemetery, but already there are clashes just

down the road from me. We've seen one injured man coming in, one member of the medical relief team here told me that there are lots of rubber bullets

being fired down at the end of the road as well as we believe tear gas as well.

That's a major intersection in Jerusalem which separates this predominately Palestinian part of town from Jewish suburbs behind me.

So, there's a large security presence around this entire neighborhood. But particularly at the end of this road -- Amara.

WALKER: A lot of Palestinians believe that this was a revenge killing in retaliation for the abduction and the deaths of those three Israeli

teenagers. Where does the investigation stand right now on both sides?

WEDEMAN: I'm sorry, I think that was a little bit of machine gun fire, but probably just in the air from the funeral. Can you ask me that

question one more time?

WALKER: Just if you can bring us up to date, Ben, on where the investigations stand on both sides in the killings of the three Israeli

teens and 16-year-old Mohammad Abu Khedair?

WEDEMAN: As far as the three Israeli teens, they're still looking for two suspects, residents of Hebron, but they have yet to be found. They are

still ongoing Israeli operations throughout the West Bank, more arrests. We -- at this point, probably about 500 Palestinians have been detained as

part of this sweep that took place, but of course that was focused on two things: finding the kidnappers, but also cracking down on the

infrastructure of Hamas in the West Bank.

So as far as those two suspects are concerned, still no sign of them.

Regarding Mohammad Abu Khedair, the police say they continue to investigate. They are looking at two posibilities according to (inaudible)

that there one was it was either a revenge killing, or it was some sort of family dispute. But they -- the Israeli media certainly is beginning to

seriously discount suggestions that it was a family dispute, and all signs point to that indeed it was a revenge killing.

We saw just the night before he was -- his -- Mohammad Abu Khedair's body was found, there was a march through the center of Jerusalem where

people were chanting death to the Arabs. And some of the people in that crowd told me that they had the intention to go attack Arabs. So at this

point, as I said, the investigation seems to be leaning more and more in the direction of a revenge killing -- Amara.

WALKER: And as we can see behind you and hear a very tense situation. Ben Wedeman, thank you for that update.

Well, an update now on the ISIS insurgency first in Syria where we're getting reports out of Deri ez-Zor that the militant group has taken

control of most of the province. Also a British based monitoring group says ISIS has seized Syria's largest oil field along with several villages

on the Euphrates River.

Across the border, Iraq's armed forces say they're making gains against the Sunni extremists. And now Reuters is reporting that the army

has driven ISIS insurgents from the village of Awja outside Tikrit. Awja was Saddam Hussein's home village.

The Iraqi capital remains under government control. And anti- terrorism squads are working day and night to keep it that way.

Nima Elbagir went on patrol with one special forces unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fear of terror attacks has the authorities and the residents on edge.

As we travel through town with the police special forces unit, we soon see why. Every neighborhood bears scars. Here in Al Farat (ph) this

soldier tells us just yesterday twin explosions were detonated on this road. As we travel through the farms on the edges of Baghdad, the roads

are peppered with checkpoints.

We're traveling with the sector commander, Brigadier Rasan (ph) to observe efforts to secure the capital's perimeter.

Baghdad, he tells us, is safe. The firepower you see is for us, he says, not for him.

To drive home the point he even leaves his armored vest back at base. The reality is, stop and searches, which make up the bulk of the work out

here at the edge of Baghdad are difficult and dangerous.

"Get out. Get out," they tell this driver.

It's Ramadan, and the soldiers are fasting, but they can't afford to rush the job.

This is one of the western gates into Baghdad, facing as it does towards Anbar Province, the Sunni towns of Abu Ghraib, and areas in which

we understand there is a militant presence, if not militant control. We've been told repeatedly that this is one of the most vulnerable points of

entry into the capital.

But the brigadier tells us it is safer now than ever before. It is the sheer unpredictability that has the authorities off kilter, any car

could be the one.

But as the Americans learned to their cost, the humiliation and anger caused by stop and searches is an easy way to lose hearts and minds. At

one point, Brigadier Rasan (Ph) himself steps in to keep the traffic flowing.

We can't stop here for long, though. We're told the brigadier and his men are needed north of the capital.

Another point of vulnerability and the pressure on Baghdad and its people.

Nima Elgabir, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: It has been two-and-a-half years since the Costa Concordia cruise liner hit a reef and crashed into the rocks off Italy. 32 people

died. And it wasn't until September of last year that the ship was actually raised and now some remarkable new images from inside the ship have been

released.

Matthew Chance joins us live from our London bureau with that -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, thanks very much. Really remarkable video of this ship, the Costa Concordia, which ran

into ground in January 2012, it comes to us from Italian police divers. Take a look at it, it's really captured an amazingly eerie seen. You can

see the Italian police diver there heading underwater turning around to this ship. Having a look at the exterior of the ship at first and then

going inside and so you can get a glimpse of the state of this huge ocean liner, which sank, as I say, just a few meters off the coast of the Italian

island of Giglio back in 2012.

Inside you can see smashed doors, destroyed seating areas, peeling wood, of course, as a result of the sea water decay throughout the ship.

Also, the diver when he gets to the end of the footage comes across the ship's ornate central atrium, which was a feature of this truly massive

ocean liner twice the size, for instance of the Titanic. It carried 4,200 passengers on board when it ran aground, 32 of them unfortunately lost

their lives.

The situation now is that for the past several years they've been preparing for the ship to be floated away, towed away, where it will be

scrapped. Already, last year, they turned it upright. I was there in Giglio for that to see that taking place. So they've turned it upright.

In about a week from now, possibly 10 days, they're going to embark on the final stage of the salvage operation to actually refloat it. It'll be

the biggest salvage operation at sea that's ever been attempted. The ship weighs something in the region of 115,000 tons. And then when it is

eventually floated, if that operation -- again, which is unprecedented, is successful, it will be towed away to a port near the Italian port of Genoa

and where it will eventually be scrapped. And so a huge undertaking.

And some very dramatic images, startling images, from inside that ship, Amara.

WALKER: Yeah very eerie to say the least. And Herculean task ahead for those who will be towing away and taking the scraps of this liner.

Matthew Chance, thank you so much from London.

Well, earlier this week thousands of people flooded the streets of Hong Kong for an annual pro-democracy rally braving the rain and heat to

demand electoral reform. But while Hong Kongers were busy winding their way through the city, China's censorship machine was also busy blocking any

chatter of that protest. According to a Hong Kong University project, 70 posts for every 10,000 on Weibo were censored on July 1, a sharp spike.

Weibo was roughly equivalent to China's version of Twitter, except government censors often monitor and block posts.

Now surprisingly the number of Weibo posts censored on July 1 exceed the number blocked on June 4, which is the 25th anniversary of the

Tiananmen Square massacre.

And it wasn't just social media that was censored, another organization found that a messaging app was blocked too.

Line is a Japanese messaging service that's popular in China. And it was reportedly blocked for three days immediately after July 1. It appears

to be the first time the app has been blocked for months.

Well, people on the East Coast here in the United States are bracing for conditions like this: Hurricane Arthur has made landfall. We'll bring

you the latest on the storm's path when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Hurricane Arthur churning in the Atlantic. Kyra MacGinnis is at the world weather center with its track. It's amazing, though, a cat 2,

it made landfall and no damage to speak of in North Carolina?

KYRA MACGINNIS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: They are probably still going to be assessing that. But from what we've seen, we saw that very

heavy surf. We've probably collected some beach erosion there as well.

Power outages have been the big thing. But a lot of that North Carolina sea shore is a national protected sea shore, but as it races up

the mid-Altantic coast it's a little more densely populated along these coastal areas of Virginia. But that's not the only place that has to worry

over the next 12 to 24 hours.

Just to give you the basics, 160 kilometers per hour gusts, up to 190 kilometers per hour. And now the wind is coming off the coast of North

Carolina so you have the waves coming on shore with the storm surge and now it is blowing out of the west and for the northwest. That center of the

storm system, this hurricane, a category 2, is lying offshore. But a lot of these very fragile coastal areas are getting battered by some pretty

strong winds.

Take a look at what happened over the last 12 hours or so. This made landfall about nine hours ago in coastal North Carolina, Cape Lookout was

the general region. And they had a wind gust of 163 kilometers per hour. So, it's going to brush by the mid-Atlantic. Washington, D.C. heavy

rainfall, New York and Boston. Boston high tide is during the midafternoon or early evening hours. So this will still be at hurricane intensity, but

then as it moves into that much colder water it's going to weaken.

What we're showing you now is our latest tropical system in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Neoguri. And it is at tropical storm intensity

now, but should within the next 72 hours become a strong tropical storm.

Right now, the wind associated with it at 93 kilometers per hour. And we've got higher wind gusts. It's moving to the northwest at about 24

kilometers per hour.

I point all of that out, because there's a lot of ocean here and it's going to take within that 72 hour time period, it's going to increase in

intensity, because a typhoon strength. And then it looks like for Okinawa and the Ryukyus we could expect this early part of next week. We're

thinking by July 7, possibly into the eighth that this is going to really strongly affect western Japan and into Okinawa.

On top of that, and we've seen this before with our other tropical system. It enhances that monsoonal moisture. So across the Philippines,

you may not be seeing the direct affect from what will happen with our tropical storm/typhoon, but we are looking at this enhancing that moisture

so you could see some localized flooding and certainly the potential for some landslides across this region.

This is how we're anticipating the wind field to look as we go into the next 48 hours. Winds between 150 and 180 kilometers per hour. And

Amara it looks like this could reach supertyphoon intensity, but still the computer models are still dissecting it and it will have to just look over

the next several days. Back to you.

WALKER: Thanks for watching those systems closely for us, Kyra MacGinnis.

Well, it is not uncommon for Jews to move to Israel at some point in their lives. But in France, they're packing up and leaving by the

thousands. What's more, the numbers are increasingly significantly.

Senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann gives us a sense of why this is happening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At a Paris synagogue, a farewell ceremony, hundreds gathered to say goodbye to some of

the growing number of French Jews who are pulling up stakes and moving to Israel. According to the Jewish agency for Israel, 2,600 French Jews have

emigrated so far this year. And the agency expects the number to top 5,000 by the end of the year.

If so, it will represent 1 percent of the French Jewish community who are leaving in a single year.

Siglad Adeleine (ph) and her family are among them. They'll abandon their homeland July 16, leaving just after one last Bastille Day

celebration. Like many who are leaving, they want a change from the depressing economy and the apparent growing anti-Semitism in France. Since

her son was attacked four years ago, she fears for the safety of her children.

Dramatic anti-Semitic attacks like the recent deadly shootings at a Jewish museum in Belgium allegedly committed by a French citizen make Jews

here nervous. But they point as well to the less newsworthy insults and aggression they say they face every day.

At the departure ceremony, the chairman of the Jewish agency Natan Sharansky (ph) was presented a long list of French immigrants to Israel.

For Sharansky (ph), once an immigrant to Israel himself, the surge in migration may also be a response to what he believes is the duplicity in

the way Israel is treated in European public opinion.

NATAN SHARANSKY, CHAIRMAN, JEWIS AGENCY FOR ISRAEL: Double standard towards Israel, demonization of Israel, (inaudible) of Israel. The Jews

have to choose whether to be loyal to the good in Europe or whether to be loyal to Israel.

BITTERMANN: Not everyone who is leaving has such clear motives. For 22-year-old Edward Harrari, who faces military duty after he arrives, it's

a chance to get back to his Jewish roots. But he adds that while the rest of his family is staying behind, they are keenly aware of the growing anti-

Jewish sentiment in France.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's always been a question in my household or in the community of leaving because it's not possible anymore and why stay.

When you think -- when it's always a question of should we leave then some maybe something is wrong.

BITTERMANN: In French, there are two ways of saying au revoir, which means roughly until we meet again, and adieu, which is more final, more

permanent. Some of those who are packing their bags may not yet have decided which of the good-byes they'll be saying.

Some, like Harrari (ph) say they may come back one day. But the fact that so many are emigrating just now says much about the country they're

leaving behind.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Well as you know a major international sporting event is well underway in South America, it's not boxing, it's not baseball, but for

Cubans it is close enough. Wehn we return, Cuba goes crazy for the World Cup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Colombia are facing Brazil for a place in the semifinals of the World Cup. It remains to be seen whether Colombia will go all the way

to the final. But on July 13, there will be at least one Colombian there, Shakira, the pop star will perform before the World Cup final. And it is a

third straight time she'll appear at the closing ceremony.

It also means she'll have made farther in the tournament than her boyfriend. She's dating Spanish defender Gerard Pique who was eliminated

in the group stage.

Well, Cubans are known to love baseball and Boxing, but football not so much. But who can resist the excitement of the World Cup? Patrick

Oppmann shows us how the tournament is changing attitudes in the island nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cubans call their beloved sport simply La Pelota (ph), the ball, baseball that is. Here,

baseball is not just the national pasttime, it's the island's grand obsession. But lately, a different sport is making inroads in Cuba.

"The first sport I played as a boy was baseball," he says. "But then I switched to football, because it's more dynamic and involves more team

work."

Cuba isn't competing in this year's World Cup. Actually, the last time Cuba qualified for football's premier tournament was way, way back in

1938.

Football in Cuba had all but died out. In fact, in 1962, one of the first clues that Soviets had secretly placed nuclear missiles here were

U.S. spy plane photographs that showed the construction of football fields across the island. The CIA deduced they must have been put there by

Russian troops, since Cubans didn't play the game.

But now, more than ever, football fever is sweeping Cuba. The government is showing all the games on state TV. Matches are also being

screened at movie theaters for about 10 cents a ticket.

Cuban officials used to discourage the display of flags of other countries, but now the banners of Brazil, Germany, even the United States

are everywhere.

For years, Eric Hernandez (ph) has labored to inspired football mania in his fellow Cubans through his ability to juggle the ball for hours. He

says many Cubans may be knew to football, but the game has a great future on the island.

"Cuban players are tireless on the field," he says. "They don't have good control of the ball, but our physical training is helping us to

overcome our technical deficiencies."

Cuba's football crazy maybe the result of barriers slowly being lowered and a greater interaction of a once isolated nation with the

outside world.

"Football has changed the world," he says. "Here in Cuba before there wasn't a tradition of football. We played baseball and volleyball, but

football fever is sweeping the world and we came down with it here."

In Cuban football, fans may discover that they're new found addiction to the beautiful game has no cure.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And you heard Patrick say that Cuba participated in the 1938 World Cup. Well, they actually beat Romania in their first round match to

make it to the quarterfinal, but that's where their adventure ended. Cuba were beaten 8-0 by Sweden. Ouch. Probably left some lasting scars.

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

END