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NEWS STREAM
Temporary Hamas Cease-Fire Ends; Palestinian Boys Killed; Microsoft Announces Layoffs; China's Corruption Probe; Standing Out in Japan; Israeli Drones
Aired July 17, 2014 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to NEWS STREAM where news and technology meet.
A few hours of relief for the people of Gaza. But a humanitarian cease-fire is now officially over.
China powers ahead with its anticorruption drive. And we examine what's behind it.
And the story of an Indian boy chained to a bus stop has a hopeful ending. We'll show you what happened next.
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STOUT: First, a five-hour cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has just ended this as an Israeli delegation in Cairo discusses a more long-
lasting truce. The U.N. had requested today's brief respite so residents of Gaza could get to stores and get to banks and so that humanitarian aid
could get in following days of airstrikes and rocket fire.
About two hours after the truce began, the Israeli military says at least three mortars were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.
Diana Magnay is in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, following developments for us. She joins us now live.
And, Diana, will there be a new cease-fire on Friday?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, it's too early to tell. We don't have confirmation either from the Israeli or the Egyptian
side. We just know that there has been a high-level meeting of Egyptian and Israeli delegates in Cairo and that the Israeli delegation has left.
And of course peace talks have been on the table. But no confirmation yet. So of rumors that cease-fire might go into effect again. And you can
understand that they're trying to be extremely careful. The last cease- fire was rushed into to a certain extent; Hamas' military wing said that they hadn't even seen the proposal and rejected it as not worth the ink it
was written with.
Therefore you can expect that those involved in trying to negotiate a cease-fire and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, was also
in Cairo, slightly more wary about rushing into this kind of situation again.
But you can be sure that in the interim, between the failure of the last one and these talks, there has also been negotiations, trying to make
this one stick.
As to the crossing of humanitarian goods into Gaza, which was the purpose of this morning's cease-fire, we know that the Kerem Shalom
crossing down to the south of the Strip was closed to much of the morning, that those lorries containing humanitarian goods were only really able to
get in in the last couple of hours.
Also we were just further down south near Kibbutz Sufa and that was where earlier, very early this morning, Kristie, militants from Gaza broke
through and entered through a tunnel. They dug a terra tunnel and came out the other side on Israeli territory and were thwarted by the Israeli
defense forces, who said that many of them were injured, killed in this raid.
So it's been a fairly busy morning for what was supposed to be a cease-fire, Kristie.
STOUT: And tell us more about today's cease-fire --
(CROSSTALK)
STOUT: OK. Unfortunately, we just lost Diana Magnay, but thank you very much indeed for that update and the reporting live on the scene.
Before today's temporary cease-fire, between Israel and Hamas, even began, again, it ended just a few minutes ago, they were attacks from both
sides. The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on 13 militants. It says that they were trying to get into southern Israel from a tunnel from
Gaza. Local resident says he heard gunfire and explosions. And police in Gaza say Israeli tank fire killed three people in Rafa. The number of
Palestinian deaths is now reported to be 230.
Tension remains high in Gaza following the deaths of four Palestinian boys. Palestinian officials say that they were killed by an Israeli shell
as they were playing on a beach. The boys are just the latest of more than 220 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in nine days of fighting.
Ben Wedeman has more from Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were killed on the beach Wednesday afternoon when the Israeli military
targeted Gaza's harbor. The four boys, Ismail, Zakaria, Ahed and Mohamed, were cousins from the extended Bakr family, ranging in age from 9 to 11.
They were rushed to Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, but it was too late.
An Israeli military spokesman says the incident is being carefully investigated and that preliminary results indicate, quote, "The target of
this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives," end quote.
In just over an hour after their deaths, hundreds turned out for their funeral. Behind the angry chants, there is real grief.
Eleven-year-old Mohamed's mother, convulsed with shattered disbelief.
"Why did he go to the beach and play for them to take him away from me?" she cries.
His blind father, Ramiz, equally devastated.
"I felt as if the world had come to an end when I heard the news," he tells me. "I wish I had died before hearing he was dead."
Of the more than 200 people killed in the last 10 days of Israeli bombardment, over 70 percent have been civilians, according to the United
Nations. Around 40 of the dead are children.
"Were those four small boys firing rockets?" Sufian, a relative asks. "They went to the beach to play football."
The boys died on the sands of Gaza and in the sands of Gaza they were buried -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Shadi Refugee Camp, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: And the deaths of those boys, a brutal reminder of the civilian toll in this conflict and of course the need for a lasting truce,
a lasting cease-fire.
Our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, joins me now live from Gaza City.
Ben, these reports of another cease-fire due to begin early Friday morning, is this going to happen?
What can you tell us?
WEDEMAN: I think those reports, Kristie, are a bit premature. We just heard from a member of Hamas, who tells us that, at this point, they
have no comment. These were reporting coming out earlier from Jerusalem, that there would be a cease-fire at 6:00 am tomorrow morning but Israeli
officials are staying away from those reports.
Hamas, as I said, not commenting, so at this point it doesn't look particularly good as far as an end to the hostilities. The humanitarian
cause ended eight minutes ago. The streets of Gaza are still pretty full, but a little emptier than they were about an hour and a half ago when we
were last downstairs. There's a bank downstairs. We saw dozens of people lining up for -- to get money for the first time in 10 days. Banks have
been closed; there are repair crews going around. It's important to keep in mind that 900,000 people in Gaza, more than 50 percent of the population
have no running water due to destruction of the infrastructure.
So during those five brief hours of relative quiet, lots of people were trying to get a lot accomplished. But now it's past 3 o'clock and
there's no cease-fire. So we will have to see what happens in the coming hours, hoping for quiet -- Kristie.
STOUT: We need another cease-fire, another lasting truce to be brokered so that more humanitarian aid can get there.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben, he says that Hamas has shut the door to diplomacy. I want to get your thoughts about how willing and how able is
Hamas to negotiate a lasting end to this conflict.
WEDEMAN: Well, Hamas certainly is willing and able to negotiate an end to this conflict but it takes two to tango in this instance. Within
Hamas itself, there's not complete disagreement on what the end game is. There are those who would like to see, for instance, Hamas is asking for a
10-year cease-fire, a lifting of all the restrictions on Gaza, the ability of people in Gaza to go to Jerusalem and pray at the Aqsa Mosque. This is
a long list of requests or demands that Hamas is putting out, that the Israelis are likely to balk at. Now hopefully they can reach some sort of
midway solution because, for the people of Gaza, even though many of them do not support Hamas, they didn't vote for Hamas in the last election in
January 2006, they do want to see many of the demands of Hamas met.
People here say we are living in the world's biggest open air prison. You can't go out to sea because of the Israeli blockade. You can't go to
Israel unless you go through a lot of bureaucracy to get a permit. Those are rare. The border to Egypt has been closed for a long time. The
tunnel's destroyed; nothing's going in or out. So they certainly would like to see a fundamental change in the status quo. And in that, Hamas
does have the support of many people, even though many people here in Gaza don't quite see the utility of these rocket attacks into Israel -- Kristie.
STOUT: Ben Wedeman, reporting live from Gaza City, many thanks indeed for that. We'll talk again soon.
Now China's sweeping corruption crackdown is scooping up officials, even a TV news anchor, on the name of cutting graft. And now the Communist
Party is widening its net and heading overseas. So who is next? And what is really behind this anti-corruption campaign? Take a closer look, next.
And we'll also revisit the heartwrenching story of a little boy left tied to a post at this bus stop in India. And we'll tell you how some
unexpected generosity is giving him new hope for the future.
Also ahead, trouble in the skies. Why bumpy flights might be on the rise and what could be behind the trend.
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STOUT: Now some breaking news on Microsoft, has just announced its largest ever layoffs. And Microsoft will cut some 18,000 jobs. This move
was widely expected; its relatively new CEO, Satya Nadella said in a memo last week that organizational changes were coming to Microsoft. We'll have
more on this story in the hours ahead, right here on CNN.
Now in China, they are called the tigers and the flies, the powerful leaders and low-ranking officials all caught up in China's crackdown on
corruption. Since the beginning of his term, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made fighting graft a political priority. In the last week, we've seen
a number of former party officials and a TV news anchor targeted by the campaign.
On Wednesday, China's anti-corruption chief Wang Qishan announced a new crackdown on so-called naked officials. These are officials with
families living abroad. So just how far will this crackdown go? And what are the true reasons behind China's anti-corruption drive?
Earlier I spoke with David Pilling, the Asia editor for the "Financial Times."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID PILLING, ASIA EDITOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Well, the corruption drive has just gone a lot further than people imagined, lots of new leaders
come in and they launch an anti-corruption drive. That's the kind of thing you do. Hu Jintao did it. But this has just gone further, deeper and
higher than anybody could have imagined. They said tigers and flies; you've now got a monarch butterfly, this kind of spokesman for the new
China, this flash anchorman.
STOUT: Rui Chenggang.
PILLING: Rui Chenggang. And now he's been detained. And that's quite a big shock, I think.
STOUT: When he was detained, his arrest made international headlines. Of course it made waves in social media as well.
But why is his arrest significant?
PILLING: Well, I think, as I said, you know, he is, in a sense, the face of the new China, this brash young man. He's a guy who, for example,
jokes to Gary Locke about Gary Locke flying this -- the former U.S. ambassador -- to China, flying to China coach class. Said is that because
you owe us so much money?
This is the guy that campaigned against Starbucks in the Forbidden City.
So he's been the new face of China, the face of a kind of confident nationalist China in a sense. And there he is, almost kind of swallowed by
his own revolution. And so that's why I think it's so significant, why him? What's going on? Has this just got a bit out of hand? It's gone
further than people imagined.
STOUT: Now another very, very high-profile personality in China's anti-corruption drive in the ex-security chief of China, Zhou Yongkang, who
is a man who used to be so powerful. He's been described as the Dick Cheney of China. I understand your journalists of the "FT" have called him
the J. Edgar Hoover of China in terms of his power and number of dossiers that he had on file.
And we've seen in the last year a number of his allies, family member being targeted in this anti-corruption campaign.
What will be his fate? What's next for him?
PILLING: Well, the truth is we don't know, but it looks like a slow- motion arrest, doesn't it? I mean, he has not been arrested yet so far as we know. But so many people that are associated with him have been.
I mean, it's reported that he's on the virtual house arrest. He's kind of disappeared from the public view. Remember, this was the ninth
most powerful man in China. This was the man who ran the giant oil corporation and a man with fingers in every sort of pie in China. And so
his influence went extremely wide and deep. And now it seems that even he is not immune.
STOUT: And China president Xi Jinping, it seems from day one, as president of China, he has made fighting graft, fighting corruption his
number one political priority.
Why? Is it really too root out graft or is it to get rid of his political enemies?
PILLING: Well, again, we don't know. I mean, I don't think we can discount the idea that he really is trying to get rid of corruption. After
all, corruption is so corrosive that it's eating away at the legitimacy of the Communist Party. He may see this as survival.
STOUT: And it is corrosive for the party and also for the people of China. Corruption is just a fact of daily life. You hear stories of
people having to pay a red envelope just to gain access to a hospital bed in China. Corruption is so rampant in the country.
Will this anti-corruption campaign work? It's so far-reaching, as we've seen in the last week.
But will it succeed in getting rid of graft from the very top to the very bottom?
PILLING: I think the short answer is no. How far can this go? Everybody in a sense in the Communist Party, which has 80 million members
plus, is implicated. I'll not say everybody's dirty, but this certainly goes extremely deep into the kind of heart of the Communist Party at every
level.
Including Xi Jinping's family, which is been reported and has amassed considerable wealth. So at some point you would imagine this has to stop.
The question is where and how and who makes it stop.
STOUT: Without the system falling.
PILLING: Without the system falling indeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: And that was "Financial Times" Asia editor David Pilling.
Right here on NEWS STREAM, we will continue to try China's anti- corruption probe, bring the latest developments. And President Xi Jinping's crackdown.
Viewers around the world were moved when CNN told the story of this little boy, 9-year-old Lakhan Kale. He was tied to a bus stop every
morning in Mumbai while his grandmother went to work. But the sad story has a hopeful update. CNN's Mallika Kapur reports on how the kindness of
strangers has helped Lakhan have a better life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He lived here, some say like a dog on a leash, 9-year-old Lakhan Kale's grandmother would tie him to this bus
stop with this rope every day when she went to work.
She says she had to for his own safety.
Lakhan suffers from cerebral palsy. He can neither hear nor speak. He appears to live in his own world, unaware of the global reaction to a
CNN story about him.
MENNA MUTHA, MANAV FOUNDATION: I was under the impression who cares, I mean, it was a sad story. But I was happy, at least. People are
responding. I mean, that's a good thing, which I really feel tranquil for the story or CNN that they have taken a part in showing that.
KAPUR (voice-over): When CNN tried to film Lakhan, he had been shifted to a government shelter for juveniles.
"He's lost so much weight since he came here," his grandmother tells me, even the government admits the shelter is not equipped for children
with special needs.
VIJAYA MURTHY, MAHARASHTRA CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE: There are actually hardly few homes for that type of children.
KAPUR: Is this according to you a failure of the state government?
MURTHY: I don't think it's a failure but we should be -- we should be optimistic some more homes.
KAPUR (voice-over): Social worker Menna Mutha kept looking, motivated by messages of hope, promises to help, even some funds from well-wishers
who'd seen our report on Lakhan. In early July, Mutha found Lakhan his part in a school and hostel for children with special needs. It's in
Satara, a hill town nearby. We joined Lakhan on his journey.
His fellow students also unable to speak or hear welcomed him in their own way.
Alok Polke runs the institution, using a combination of some government grants and money from donors. Moved by Lakhan's story, he took
him in for free.
ALOK POLKE, SAMTA SHIKSHAN PRASARAK MANDAL: We'll be focusing on his, making him self-sufficient, making him independent. So that will be our
first focus.
KAPUR (voice-over): The training started immediately. It's a brand- new chapter in lakhan's life. Today is his very first day at school and he's lined up here with all the other children, waiting for the bus to come
to take him there. A short ride, a long walk. Once he reaches the classroom, Lakhan seems to settle in quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today he's in school. His future is secured now. It's done. It's done.
KAPUR (voice-over): It's not often I get to report on a story that leads to real change, change that was driven by regular folks around the
world moved by his story. The sad reality: Lakhan is just one thousands who suffer on India's streets just one of thousands whose fate has changed
-- Mallika Kapur, CNN, Satara.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: As Mallika just said, many children like Lakhan remain invisible and remain ignored. But you can help them receive the care that
they need by reaching out to the organization we saw in that report. Just head to manavfoundation.org.in to find out how to help improve the lives of
people suffering from mental illness or disorders in India.
You're watching NEWS STREAM. Still to come on the program, we'll be tracking the escalating crisis between Israel and Hamas. Now that a five-
hour cease-fire is over, the question is what can we expect to see in the hours ahead? Stay with us for a live update from Gaza.
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STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching NEWS STREAM.
Now Japan is well-known for its quirky fashion subcultures. It's on the kookier side, it's an otherwise conservative society. But breaking
some social conventions can come at a price. And Will Ripley meets one man whose daring choice of attire is turning heads and maybe even changing
minds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a culture of conformity --
HIDEAKI KOBAYASHI, INSTRUCTOR, WASEDA JUKU: Japan's society is about conforming to all the other people.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Hideaki Kobayashi was suffocating, tired of following the crowd, tired of hiding in the closet.
KOBAYASHI: I just want to wear something cute.
RIPLEY (voice-over): His closet is full of seifuku, sailor outfits worn by Japanese schoolgirls.
RIPLEY: You're straight?
KOBAYASHI: Yes.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Kobayashi's attracted to women. He identifies as a man even when he's dressed up.
KOBAYASHI: I feel much more myself wearing this.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He began going out in public three years ago, when he was almost 50.
KOBAYASHI: I was surprised at how quickly I became known.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Social media made him a star. People take and post pictures everywhere he goes. But while men dressing as women is
accepted on Japanese TV and in comics, real-life reactions can be different. He says sometimes, people shout insults on the street.
RIPLEY: So they call you a pervert?
What -- how do you respond to that?
KOBAYASHI: They're making fun of me, so I just shake.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Young people are his biggest fan base; some consider Kobayashi a subculture icon.
ALEXANDER BLACKHALL, WASEDA JUKU ADMINISTRATOR: He's very popular with the young generation ,obviously very popular with our kids.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He caught the attention of administrators at Waseda Juku, a private prep school for teenagers. They learned Kobayashi
is a patent-holding computer engineer, an accomplished photographer.
BLACKHALL: This rich character behind the facade.
RIPLEY (voice-over): So they hired him to lecture these teens on how to think for themselves, how to be themselves in a country where students
spend years learning how not to stick out.
KOBAYASHI: If there's something you want to do, do that.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Kobayashi calls it the key to a rich and happy life.
"I thought he might be a pervert," this student says. "But he has wonderful ideas and he's really smart."
Kobayashi says his says his story proves, you don't have to conform to be accepted.
KOBAYASHI: That's my message. Be yourself.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A message he never dreamed he'd be sharing on this stage in this society, dressed like this -- Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: You've got to love his message and that signature pose.
You're watching NEWS STREAM. Still to come on the program, a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas is now over.
So what's next with the warring sides? We go live to Gaza just after the break.
Plus Hamas rolls out a rarely seen weapon in its fight against Israel. We'll have more on the unmanned drones it launched earlier this week.
We'll explore what kind of capabilities they might have.
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STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM and these are your world headlines.
Microsoft says it will cut 18,000 jobs. CEO Satya Nadella announced the company's largest-ever job cuts in an email to employees. Nokia
accounts for over 12,000 of the jobs lost. Microsoft officially completed its purchase of Nokia's devices division back in April. Nadella said that
the cuts will help Microsoft focus on being a, quote, "productivity and platform company."
We'll have much more on Microsoft in the next hour on "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY."
A five-hour humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas ended just about a half-hour ago. The Israeli and Palestinian delegations have
been in Cairo to discuss proposals to prevent more bloodshed. Shortly before today's truce got underway, the Israeli military says it carried out
an airstrike on militants who were trying to enter southern Israel through a tunnel.
Russian leaders are slamming a new round of U.S.-led sanctions stemming from the conflict in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin says that
they are seriously damaging ties between his government and Washington. Russia's foreign ministry went further, saying the sanctions amount to
blackmail.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced the new measures on Wednesday. The expanded sanctions target Russian banks and energy companies as well as
Ukrainian separatists and defense firms.
A helicopter carrying fire and search crews involved in the South Korean ferry disaster has crashed. Five people on board were killed. The
helicopter went down in an urban area in the southwestern city of Hangzhou. There is no indication yet of what caused the crash.
Let's get more now on the efforts to stop the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and the militant rocket attacks on Israel.
Ben Wedeman joins us once again, live from Gaza City.
And, Ben, as today's cease-fire officially ends -- it ended about half an hour ago -- reports about another truce that happened Friday morning,
what is the latest word on that?
WEDEMAN: Nothing conclusive, Kristie. We did speak to one representative of Hamas, who says they have no comments on these reports
coming out of Jerusalem about a 6:00 am cease-fire Friday morning. But what we have seen on the ground is that a rocket was fired from Gaza,
hitting the Israeli city of Ashkelon that -- in fact, we can see -- you can't see it, but it's fairly distant, some black smoke on the horizon,
where it looks like it's near the Israeli border.
Now as far as that rocket on Ashkelon, apparently Hamas has claimed responsibility for it. So very soon after that temporary humanitarian
cease-fire expired, the fire began. But until now, it has been at a much less intense level than we've seen over the last few days -- Kristie.
STOUT: So the firing has continued after that temporary cease-fire, which ended about 30 minutes ago. The Israeli airstrike earlier, which
killed four Palestinian children on a beach, now, Ben, that just brutally highlighted these mainly civilian toll of this conflict and the death toll
has been rising.
What can you tell us?
WEDEMAN: The death toll is over 220 at this point, more than 1,500 wounded. And of course as the U.N. has pointed out, more than 70 percent
of the victims are civilians and 40 of the dead are children, at least 40.
And this really underscores the risk to people, keeping in mind that the Israelis have been dropping leaflets, making these so-called robocalls
to people in northern Gaza, to people in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City and Zeitoun neighborhood, telling them to go to Gaza City. But it was
in Gaza City on the beach where those four boys were killed at 4:00 pm yesterday afternoon in an Israeli bombardment.
So the problem is there really is nowhere safe in Gaza, regardless of where you are. And you can't escape so nothing to be done but to wait and
hope that some sort of cease-fire takes hold -- Kristie.
STOUT: As you said, there's nowhere where one can be safe there in Gaza . It's, what, day 11 of the conflict; the death toll has been
climbing.
Ben, your thoughts on what is it going to take to get both sides to agree to carrying out a lasting cease-fire and to finally end the violence
here?
Well, that's obviously the question the Egyptian mediators and others are asking. On the Israeli side, they want to see quiet. They want to see
an end to the rocket fire; they would like to see Hamas defanged. But they've tried that twice already in 2008-2009, and November 2012. That
didn't quite happen. For Hamas and for many Palestinians in Gaza, they want to see a fundamental change.
This place has been under essentially tight restrictions by the Israelis in to since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000. But
really tightening up in June 2007, when Hamas essentially took over the Gaza Strip.
Keep in mind that when you speak to a lot of older Gazans here, they will recall the day when you could drive in a taxi from the center of Gaza
City to Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, and there was just one very small checkpoint along the way. Tens of thousands of Gazans used to go to Israel
every day and work and make relatively good money.
This place was a source of cheap labor for the Israelis. Those days are over and many people would like to see a resumption of the ease of
travel that existed before the Intifada; in fact, before the 1993 signing of the Oslo Peace Accords, which I think historians will probably look back
in retrospect and say it was a disaster because it's been a disaster for Gaza -- Kristie.
STOUT: CNN's Ben Wedeman with the view from Gaza -- thank you, Ben.
The exchanges of fire between Israel and Hamas have been matched by equality harsh rhetoric between the two sides. A member of the Israeli
cabinet says Hamas is using civilians as human shields while Israel has come under intense scrutiny over the number of civilian casualties suffered
on the Palestinian side.
But Israel says it is making every effort to prevent innocent people from dying.
Wolf Blitzer was given exclusive access to see how the military takes precautions there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST (voice-over): This is what an Israeli drone sees over Gaza. CNN got special access to this highly secure Israeli air
force base, home to the Israeli drone program. I spoke with Lieutenant Orr (ph), whose face and last name we're not allowed to show.
His job: to make sure targets are clear of civilians.
BLITZER: How do you do that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We see the picture live. Before we attack the targets, we are flying to the target, we are searching for civilians and we
are searching for any casualty that can be around the target.
BLITZER: So, before Israeli jet fighters, whether an F-16 or any other Israeli plane, actually goes out there and launches missiles, you
have to clear it. Is that right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
BLITZER (voice-over): The Israeli defense forces gave this video to CNN which they say shows they take every effort to spare civilian lives.
As this target is about to be struck, it's called off at the last minute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We reached a target. And as we were getting closer, we saw people walking around the main street. We immediately
stopped the attack.
BLITZER: His message was relayed to Lieutenant Omer (ph) of the Israeli air force, whose F-15 was ready to strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In five seconds before we released the bombs, before we released the bombs, and we sent, someone in the communications
said, cancel the bomb, cancel the bombing.
BLITZER (voice-over): Still, Palestinians are dying and the death toll is now over 200. The Israeli military says it has targeted over 1,800
sites in Gaza, from which they believe Hamas is operating.
BLITZER: It's not a perfect business, though, as you know, because there are a lot of Palestinian civilians that have been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I said, every death of any civilians from every side, it's tragedy.
BLITZER: When there are mistakes, do you feel guilty?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes, there are mistakes, and yes, I take it personally.
BLITZER (voice-over): Wolf Blitzer, CNN, at the Tel Nof Israeli Air Force Base in Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: And despite the asymmetric nature of the crossfire, Hamas has been claiming major advancements in its drone technology. Just this week
the group said in a series of online tweets that it had successfully launched three armed drones. It was an Iranian model known as the Ababil
A1B. You're looking a video released by Hamas, alleging to show this weapon equipped with four missiles under its wings.
However analysts question whether these were actual weapons or just mockups, given that they weren't deployed.
Now Hamas also claimed that these unmanned drones were on an intelligence seeking mission, flying over Israeli military bases and the
country's war ministry. But again skeptics question whether they were actually equipped for tactical reconnaissance.
Now either way here, even just the display of this technology success in at least one key tactic: launching a psychological offensive on the
Israelis.
Now let's get more on the breaking news we brought to you earlier. Microsoft says it will cut 18,000 jobs in its largest-ever layoff. And for
more on this big announcement and what it will mean for the company, we're joined now by Paul R. La Monica from CNNMoney.
And, Paul, I mean, this is huge, unprecedented layoffs at Microsoft.
What impact is this going to have on the business? Will it change the business focus at Microsoft? Will it change the corporate culture there?
PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think what new CEO Satya Nadella is clearly signaling is that Microsoft needs to adjust to the
evolving tech landscape and I think that's the reason why the company chose him to be the new CEO to replace Steve Ballmer in the first place. The
stock has done extremely well since he took over.
This news was expected; many of the layoffs coming from the Nokia devices business that it bought from Nokia, 12,500 of those 18,000 job
cuts.
So this, I think, really does show that Microsoft realized it may have been getting a little bit bloated and needed to slim down.
STOUT: Now the business unit hardest-hit in these layoffs, Nokia. Why?
LA MONICA: Really what it comes down to is that Microsoft is trying to figure out what the most effective strategy is for mobile devices; it's
starting to sell its own surface tablets. It's trying to really take advantage of its Windows Mobile operating software. And I think the
realization was that Nokia, while a business that Microsoft obviously felt confident enough to acquire the device business, it's one that still trails
the giants of the industry like Apple, companies running on Google Android, such as Samsung.
So I think Microsoft just knows that they need to have things to be more efficient if they're really going to gain any market share.
STOUT: And, Paul, this announcement about these huge layoffs, it also draws attention to the performance of Microsoft's relatively new CEO, Satya
Nadella. I wanted to get your thoughts on how he has performed, how he has steered Microsoft since becoming its new chief.
LA MONICA: I think so far -- and if you want to look at the simple metric of stock performance, everyone seems to be pretty impressed with
Nadella. He was tapped to be CEO because he had been the head of their cloud business. And that a very rapidly growing part of Microsoft's
overall software strategy.
And I think in many respects people love him because he's not as bombastic as Steve Ballmer, who was famous for getting all fired up and
doing the monkey boy dance that was a viral sensation on YouTube. He's not as animated. And I think that's what Wall Street wants right now, someone
that's a little bit more sober, if you will.
STOUT: All right, Paul R. La Monica of CNNMoney, many thanks indeed for lending your insight to this breaking news story. Thank you. Take
care.
And of course we'll have more on these huge layoffs being announced at Microsoft. And the president of the company in the next hour on CNN, on
"WORLD BUSINESS TODAY." But right now, you're watching NEWS STREAM. Keep it here. There'll be more right after the break.
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STOUT: Welcome back. Now for many of us, basking in the sun is mostly something we look forward on weekends or on holidays. But when our
star gets fired up, it can wreak havoc across the solar system and that certainly includes Earth. On today's "Art of Movement," Max Foster takes a
closer look at the science behind so-called space weather.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST (voice-over): The sun, the largest object in our solar system, from Earth it appears as a constant circle of light. But
when viewed in space, a brilliant display of motion is revealed.
Flares that light up the galaxy and eruptions that can be as large as 30 times the Earth's surface can happen several times a day. The flares
and eruptions are collectively known as space weather and although it creates dazzling visuals in space, it isn't just a harmless fireworks show
for the galaxy. Each burst of energy can have a disrupting effect on systems we rely on every day.
Headquartered next to the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Colorado, a team of forecasters aim to minimize that impact.
BOB RUTLEDGE, FORECAST OFFICE: Forecast was for up to 500 kilometers per second. We didn't get there.
So the Space Weather Prediction Center essentially watches the sun, watches for activity on the sun originating from sunspots. And that's
really where the magnetic fields of the sun poke through the surface and kind of hold that portion of the surface in place, allowing it to cool. So
that's why it appears dark.
FOSTER (voice-over): Gas rolls up and down the sun's outer layer, similar to the bubbles in boiling water. When the magnetic field around a
sunspot breaks, magnetic energy explodes in the solar atmosphere, like a pot boiling over.
RUTLEDGE: What did those do the last time around?
FOSTER (voice-over): The size and the position of sunspots can give forecasters a clue as to when or where a solar flare may bubble up. They
produce daily forecasts that are important to the industries most vulnerable.
RUTLEDGE: Space weather can have a variety of impacts across many different customer bases -- so commercial aviation, precision GPS use or
GNSS use, for example, power grid operations -- all these are really critical to the day-to-day everyday life, the things that we depend on.
FOSTER (voice-over): Solar flares can send blasts of radiation through space that can interfere with satellites, even harm astronauts
during spacewalks.
RUTLEDGE: So when an eruption happens on the sun, when we have that flash of light, those radio waves, that takes eight minutes to get from sun
to Earth. So as soon as we start the measurement, it's already affecting the sunlit side of the Earth.
FOSTER (voice-over): Innovations in spacecraft by NASA are showing us some of the best images of the sun we've ever seen, giving us a clearer
picture and hopefully a better understanding of space weather.
But there is still a lot of mystery to the 4.5 billion-year-old star and the emissions that are blasted through space, so scientists and
forecasters will continue to watch every movement.
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STOUT: This is NEWS STREAM and still to come, Typhoon Rammasun heads for China. We'll have more on the storm with our Mari Ramos after the
break.
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STOUT: Welcome back. And time now for your global weather check. Typhoon Rammasun has weakened but it is still definitely on the move. Mari
Ramos still tracking it from the World Weather Center. She joins us now -- Mari.
MARI RAMOS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kristie, this is a storm that you will just not go away, at least not for now. This is the big picture here. You
can see the storm in -- just taking over the entire South China Sea basin. And I know in Hong Kong you guys are already feeling the effects from the
storm.
If we can take a look outside with our Hong Kong harbor camera, right outside of CNN Hong Kong, you can see just a lot of low clouds right now.
But you've had some very heavy rain already across parts of Hong Kong. You have the typhoon, three signal up. That means winds could be as high as
sustained as high as 60 kph. But you could see wind gusts upwards of 100 kph.
That's pretty significant. You see the fast-moving clouds there? Those are the outer bands of the storm. Every once in awhile as they go
through, you will get some very heavy rain like you've already had. And you actually have the amber storm warning in place already in that area.
The city looks beautiful but very dangerous conditions moving in.
Let's go ahead and take a look at the satellite image over here. There's Hong Kong right there. You see some of those thunderstorms. The
center of the storm's still very far away as you can see. Winds 140 kph near that center of circulation. But remember, a typhoon is not a point on
a map. It's a very large weather system that affects a wide area. And that's precisely what we have here.
The center of the storm will be tracking across southeastern China, possibly making landfall here in Hainan with winds close to 100, maybe 160
kph. So we could see a little bit more intense weather system than what we have right now.
But I think besides the wind, one of the main concerns will be the rain that will be affecting this entire region. Very quickly looking at
the winds one more time for Hong Kong, Friday morning -- and this is already Friday at noontime -- winds will still be howling close to 80 kph
here and notice the stronger winds, though, will be right around that eyewall moving inland across this area.
Then continuing to move near the China-Vietnam border; that hasn't changed too much. But the rain will be widespread, as I was saying. And
that will spread across this entire region and the rainfall totals for Hong Kong nearly 200 mm of rain expected there, a little bit more intense as we
head into Haikou, with over 300 mm of rain. So this is the threat for flooding and mudslides.
And check with your airlines because I've already seen a lot of cancellations to places here along southeastern China and Vietnam because
of the weather.
So expect significant travel delays; it's not going to be a good day to travel, already starting tonight as we head into Friday with the weather
slowly improving as we head into Saturday and Sunday. So it looks like definitely a soggy weekend in store.
One place that could use rain -- well, not this much, but they could use it -- is the western portion of the U.S., California again in an
extreme drought. And these are the latest numbers. As you can see right over here, 100 percent of the state in severe drought; 36 percent in
exceptional drought. They're asking Californians to conserve water.
And Kristie, they have a big star right now trying to convince them -- listen.
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We are shooting a music video at California lab Hearst Castle. And while I was there, I learned about the necessity of water conservation
during this drought. Do your part to help save water at home. Go to saveourh20.org --
RAMOS (voice-over): Well, there you see it, saveourh20.org, Lady Gaga, filming that music video, big, big star there. Think it's good
advice for everyone, that's let's conserve water, right? Back to you.
STOUT: Yes, pass it on. Mari Ramos there, thank you.
And that is NEWS STREAM. But the news continues at CNN.
And with more on the record layoffs just announced by Microsoft, "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next.
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