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French, Germany, Belgian Officials Make Sweeping Terror Raids; Google Suspends Sales Of Google Glass; Homosexual Filipinos Hope Pope's Visit Can Open Hearts, Minds; Video Reveals Child Abuse At South Korean Day Care

Aired January 16, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now French, German and Belgian officials make sweeping raids and arrests, but just how big is the terror threat to Europe.

While as Pope Francis holds mass for thousands in the Philippines, but same-sex marriage advocates here mostly silenced on an issue dear to them.

And a fresh perspective for Google Glass. The tech firm suspends sales amid a management shuffle.

Now fresh threats in the aftermath of last week's terror attacks in Paris. Now men claiming to be members of ISIS have promised more violence

across Europe and in the United States.

Now a western intelligence source tells CNN as many as 20 sleeper cells are ready to strike in Europe. Now they are prepared to launch

attacks in Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands.

But, countries are moving fast to respond. There are already been terror raised in France, Germany and Belgium. At least a dozen people were

arrested in Paris overnight. And this was the scene in Belgium where police say they prevented a major terrorist attack.

Now Belgium is putting 150 troops on standby in light of the increase in the country's terror threat level. So let's go there now. CNN's Phil

Black joins us live in Verviers where those deadly raids were carried out on Thursday night.

And Phil, we have learned a number of key additional details from Belgian police about these raids. Walk us through the findings.

Sure, Kristie.

So there were 12 raids in total across the country overnight. The raid here in Verviers certainly the most dramatic of them. That is where

you saw and heard the firefight that resulted after police raided a property in the center of the town, a former bakery now, a residential

address. They say the suspects would then open fire immediately. For several minutes, they exchanged fire.

What happened then, they say, by the end the result was two suspects killed, a third injured and taken into custody.

It is at this location here in Verviers the police say they also found four Kalashnikov AK-47s, a number of other handguns, weapons, munitions and

explosives.

In addition to, they say police uniforms, communications equipment and documents and a large sum of money.

All of this, they say, supports the theory that the wider plot here was to attack police officers either on the street or in police stations.

The 12 raids, 13 people arrested, two Belgian nationals arrested in connection with this investigation in France. And they're going to seek

their extradition here.

But the authorities here make the point that this is not part of a Europe-wide operation, this was very much focused on Belgium led, they say,

by Belgian authorities. And they insist that this was taking place and underway, this investigation, for some time before the attacks, those

recent events in Paris.

They moved last night because they received information that showed the threat was imminent. It could have been hours, they say, certainly no

more than a day or two. And, according to the prosecutor, the Belgian federal prosecutor, they were planning attacks all over Belgium, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, the threat was imminent, the target Belgian police across the country.

Phil, I understand that you spoke with neighbors there in Verviers who witnessed the raid as it went down yesterday. How did they describe the

police operation?

BLACK: Very quick, very dramatic, not your average Thursday evening in this small, quiet town. They say suddenly this particular street was

blocked by police and they saw heavily armed officers charge in to this particular residence and then what followed, they say, well it was

incredibly frightening. They describe an enormous amount of commotion, noise, a number of distinct large detonations, one of which they believe

was responsible for starting a fire on the ground floor of this particular residence which was the focus of the police raid.

But it was all over reasonably quickly. And then through the night police had kept this particular street locked down. And getting to know

this particular property pretty well.

Today, in Verviers very much back to normal. Been talking to a lot of people here.

Many were are clearly shocked by the event. Some, they say, not so much. They say there has been word on the street here, talk about the

potential for jihadist recruitment, about that sort of movement taking root in this neighborhood.

It is just talk, they say, but it has been going on. And their fear is that these recent events have confirmed that sort of speculation,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: We'll be talking more on that threat of homegrown extremism in just a moment with a terror analyst on News Stream. Phil

Black reporting live from the scene there in Verviers, Belgium, many thanks indeed for your reporting, Phil.

Now Agence France Presse reports one of its photographers has been shot and critically wounded at a protest outside the French consulate in

Karachi.

now demonstrators turned out after religious parties called for supporters to protest the depiction of Mohammed by the French satirical

magazine Charlie Hebdo. It comes a day after Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution condemning the cartoon.

Now the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in France paying respects to victims of the recent terror attacks.

After spending time with French President Francois Hollande, he joined French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius in a wreath laying ceremony.

He also visited the Charlie Hebdo memorial and met with the mayor of Paris.

Now meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House. Now the two are to discuss

security and the growing worldwide terror threat.

Now the U.S. is sending some 400 troops to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels who are fighting Syrian government forces and extremist

groups like ISIS.

Now the Pentagon tells Reuters the training is expected to begin in the spring. And according to Reuters, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have

offered to host it.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, Pope Francis is in the Philippines and has some words about social injustice.

I'll tell you what he said in just a bit.

Also ahead, Nigerian soldiers on the front line risk everything to talk to us. We have an exclusive report on the horror of fighting against

the terror group Boko Haram with little help from the government.

Also, a truly appalling video of child abuse at a day care center sparks outrage in South Korea. We'll have more on the investigation and

the reaction after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

And let's turn to the Philippines and the streets of Manila, they are teeming with excitement. Tens of thousands, if not more, showed up to

welcome Pope Francis. Now the pontiff was surrounded by tight security, but he managed to get close to the crowd, shaking hands with some.

Now a message of inclusiveness was echoed in his speech as he urged leaders in the Philippines to tackle social inequality and corruption.

Now one issue the pope has yet to address, though, is homosexuality. It is very much taboo in the strictly Catholic country. But as Anna Coren

reports, some hope the pope's visit can usher in change.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Under giant cedars in a forest near Yosemite National Park, California a union takes place in front

of family and friends.

This is a marriage between two women, Isa and Aiza Seguerra (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isa (ph) do you take Aiza to be your lawfully wedded spouse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good answer.

COREN: While same-sex marriage is legal in parts of the United States, in their home country of the Philippines, where the powerful

Catholic church influences every aspect of life, this couple is going to hell.

AIZA SEGUERRA: Growing up, I was told that if you're gay or lesbian you're going to go to hell. I had to question myself, because how can

loving someone be wrong?

COREN: A child star, now famous singer, 31-year-old Aiza was one of the first openly gay celebrities in the Philippines, a challenge in a

country with the third largest Catholic population in the world, governed by a church considered more conservative than the Vatican.

But while ostracized, this couple is filled with hope now that Pope Francis is at the helm. They believe his visit to the Philippines, with

his message of mercy and compassion, can only bring about positive change.

SEGUERRA: I hope that he will shed light to our bishops, our cardinals who are so, until now, archaic, how the church should just

embrace differences, because you know different doesn't mean bad.

COREN: This is a challenging time for the Catholic church in the Philippines. While it has more than 80 million followers, the number of

Filipinos attending mass is falling. And it's issues like contraception, divorce, same-sex marriage and corruption that are turning people away.

But when Pope Francis takes to the stage behind me here in Manila on Sunday for what is expected to be the largest open air mass in history,

many people are hoping his message will be one of change.

ANTONIO CONTRERAS, DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY: We know very well the pope, the pope is very progressive, he's having -- he's saying things that

are quite different, not expected. And he's some kind of a breath of fresh air to our church that is gradually losing its relevance.

COREN: Aisa and Lisa are not expecting the pope to mention same-sex marriage. They believe he's already helped their cause.

LISA SEGUERRA: What he's doing right now is...

AIZA SEGUERRA: You know, I think it's more than enough.

LISA SEGUERRA: There's just really more than anything compassion. And I think that transcends everything.

COREN: Last week, the couple again exchanged vows, this time in the Philippines. While not recognized by the church or state, it was for those

who could not attend the legal ceremony in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You also never imagine how much braver and kinder the world is, the Philippines is because you choose each other. And

for that, we are all very grateful.

COREN: As for those who question their love and marriage, Aiza knows what's in her heart.

AIZA SEGUERRA: I believe more than any scripture, more than any book I believe in love. So, they can say whatever they want to say, but

whatever they say -- they will not discount the fact that, yes, we are married and we love each other. And we will continue to love each other

whatever they say.

COREN: Anna Coren, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Very personal and moving report there.

Now back to our top story this hour, the fresh terror threats across Europe. And European officials have been warning for months about the

unprecedented challenge posed by fighters returning from Syria and Iraq. Now more than 3,400 westerners have gone over to join ISIS and other

extremist groups, that's according to the latest figures from the Pentagon.

Some 350 of those foreign fighters come from Belgium, the highest number per capita among European countries.

Now for more on the terror threat facing Europe, Ronald Sandee is the chief global jihad analyst at the strategic advisory firm Kronos Advisory.

He is also the founding editor of Down Range, an online forum. And he joins me now live via Skype from Charlotte, North Carolina.

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

A number of those people arrested in the Belgian terror raids were in fact Belgian citizens. Several had fought in Syria. Does that surprise

you at all?

RONALD SANDEE, CHIEF GLOBAL JIHAD ANALYST, KRONOS ADVISORY: Absolutely not -- thank you, Kristie. No. What we're seeing all over

Europe is that returnees from Syria are becoming very much agitated about everything that's happening. And we see them planning attacks in a very

rudimentary way and less sophisticated than 10 years ago by al Qaeda, but none of the less they are way more a threat than we have ever seen before

in Europe.

LU STOUT: It's not just an issue for Belgium. There's an issue of homegrown extremism. How has it become such a far reaching problem for

Belgium and also across Europe?

SANDEE: I think one of the problems is that Europe is opposed to religious society. So, we cannot really do any more with people who have

religious ideals and are willing to deal -- willing to die for their ideals as we are seeing with these young radical Muslims these days.

So, we do not really know how to give them a way to express themselves. And they feel disgruntled and not linked anymore to our

western societies.

So, they take this very drastic measures in trying to bring their ideals back to where they came from.

LU STOUT: So that's why this threat has taken root.

Let's talk about the official response. And how equipped do you believe are European police and intelligence services across the continent

to track and monitor this moving population of European jihadis?

SANDEE: I think they do the best they can, but in an open society I think they only know the tip of the iceberg that's going on. I think we

will see in the coming weeks, months that a lot of plots will be disrupted and people will be arrested, but at any time a jihadi can strike everywhere

in every European country right now because western law enforcement is definitely on its edges as it is right now to deal with all these threats.

And it takes a lot of people to follow these enormous amounts of young people that are coming back with combat experience.

LU STOUT: Terror analyst Ronald Sandee joining us live. Thank you very much indeed for your thoughts.

SANDEE: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now you're watching News Stream. Straight ahead right here on the program, the president of Nigeria pays a visit to victims terrorized

by Boko Haram, but some say he is simply not doing enough to stop the mass killings and kidnappings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now Saudi Arabia is postponing the second flogging of a Saudi blogger named Raif Badawi. Now he was meant to receive another 50 lashes today,

part of his sentence for creating a liberal online forum on Islam. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in all. But his wife

tells CNN that today's scheduled flogging was postponed on medical grounds.

Amnesty International says the postponement, quote, exposes the utter brutality of the punishment. The United Nations is also calling on Saudi

Arabia to stop.

Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has visited Borno state meeting with soldiers wounded while battling Boko Haram in the northeast. Now the

trip comes ahead of next months election and after the president was criticized for virtually ignoring the fight against the militants.

It's believed Boko Haram killed thousands of people last week near the border with Chad.

Now Borno is one of three states where President Jonathan declared a state of emergency back in 2013. They are highlighted on the map in red.

Boko Haram is now said to control an area the size of Costa Rica.

The soldiers on the front line in that battle have long complained about not getting enough support from the government. And what they now

tell CNN is outrageous. Nic Robertson has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're on the way to meet a soldier who's been in the front line of the battle against

Boko Haram. We've been chasing him all day and still trying to catch up with him.

(voice-over): Eventually, we meet, hidden in a tiny store. He dares only to spend a few minutes with us. He's not authorized to talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we are to evacuate the bodies, found too many bodies bombed.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Of soldiers?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, of soldiers.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): He's telling a side of the war we never hear, what it's like to be a soldier fighting Boko Haram.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The troop morale is actually very low, very low, because we are not issued the kits. We buy the kits yourself.

ROBERTSON (on camera): You have to buy the uniform?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. I bought mine myself.

ROBERTSON: That's incredible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): His base is outside this town, three hours northeast of the capital. It's where the mostly Muslim meets the mostly

Christian south. Right here, last month, a twin suicide bombing killed 12 people. There are thousands of troops stationed in this town and many more

stories like the soldier we're talking to.

(on camera): So this is what they gave you after your injury recommending for treatment?

(voice-over): Another soldier shows me his medical a papers. He, too, is not authorized to speak to us. His unit, he says, was outgunned, Boko

Haram with longer, bigger weapons, more men and more ammunition. His comrades fled leaving him behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They not have equipment to stand for the insurgency.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Against the fight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To fight Boko Haram, yeah. Their equipment is very, very low than the Boko Haram.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Three scary days alone on the run from the terror group before reaching his base.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling very bad. Even my family, they said -- they asked me to leave the job.

ROBERTSON: His morale, rock bottom. Things were bound to get worse.

(on camera): The army won't pay for drugs even though you got injury fighting Boko Haram.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not paying for drugs.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): We asked a senior government official about shortcomings. He said he would look into it.

(on camera): Why don't the generals see this problem and think about giving you better weapons to win the fight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, whatever is allocated for these things.

ROBERTSON: Corruption?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corruption.

ROBERTSON: How can you go on being a soldier in that environment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a call to some.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Good will that without bigger guns and more ammunition may soon run out.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Joss (ph), Nigeria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And you can find more reporting from Nic Robertson on our website and learn what little is known about the ruthless leader of Boko

Haram. It's all at CNN.com.

Now parents in South Korea are in uproar after a shocking surveillance video came to light. It shows a toddler at a nursery school hit so hard by

her teacher that she was knocked off her feet and lay stunned.

Paula Hancocks has more on this. And a warning, the pictures are deeply disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This video has horrified a nation. Police say this toddler in a South Korean nursery is

being forced to eat kimchi, a traditional dish of fermented cabbage, but she's unable to eat it. She spits it out. The teacher then slaps her so

hard she flies to the ground.

Staying still for a couple of seconds, the girl then picks up her spoon.

Other children seen in this surveillance video watch motionless.

The teacher was questioned by police and detained Thursday. They tell CNN they fear this is not an isolated case at this nursery one hour west of

Seoul. They say since the investigation started Monday, they have found four more credible reports of violence.

Mothers in the area are taking it in turns to stand vigil outside the nursery with a sign saying no to violence against children, no to child

abuse.

This mother says, "I don't send my child to nursery, but this isn't someone else's problem, we all have to fight together."

A sign of apology on the door of the now closed nursery and tears from the head teacher.

She says, "we sincerely apologize to the children, the parents and the people."

Neither the teacher nor head have been officially identified, but horrified citizens have outed them online, publishing their names, photos

and mobile numbers. Not surprisingly their phones are switched off.

A similar case in the same area was caught on December, according to South Korean media. YTN reports a teacher through a child onto the ground

for not taking a nap at a nursery. That incident is still under investigation.

Two cases in as many months have some parents worried. Although official figures show that less than 3 percent of all child abuse cases

happened in nurseries in 2013. But shock and outrage online is growing with some asking how many more cases have gone unreported.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Absolutely appalling video there.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, we will have more on the terror threat facing Europe straight ahead.

And Google has put the breaks on the sales of its smart eyewear. Is this the end of Google Glass, or the springboard to something new?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now an intelligence source tells CNN that as many 20 sleeper cells have been identified across Europe. Up to 180 people are involved. And

we're hearing that they were prepared to strike targets in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Countries are moving fast to respond.

Meanwhile in Belgium, 12 people were arrested, part of a large anti- terror operation. Now police say several of the suspects had fought in Syria and had planned to kill police. Now fake uniforms weapons and money

were found in the raids.

Pope Francis urged leaders in the Philippines to tackle poverty, corruption and social injustice. Now the pontiff was speaking at the

presidential palace as part of a five day visit to the Philippines. Now according to the World Bank, over one-quarter of the population lives at or

below the poverty line.

Strong currents in the Java Sea are hampering diver's efforts to recover bodies from the fuselage of AirAsia flight 8501 off Indonesia. If

it becomes too difficult to bring the bodies up individually, officials say the entire fuselage may have to be lifted up out of the water.

We know al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, but there are many unknowns. Among

them, did the Kouachi brothers actually meet the man the group says masterminded the massacre Anwar al-Awlawki? Now senior international

correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has more now from Yemen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really about timing here. That's what's so absolutely vital for investigators to work

out.

We know that Anwar al-Awlawki is claimed by al Qaeda to have had an operational roll in what al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula refer to as the

blessed battle of Paris, sickeningly. But we don't know if that has any relation to reality.

The brothers, or potentially brother Cherif Kouachi left Yemen in 2011, too, potentially just around the time that al-Awlawki was killed by a

U.S. drone. What they need to find out in France investigators desperate to know if the contact between here, Yemen and that Paris cell continue.

That's vital, because if those networks were still in place, then potentially resources can still come from this, a hotbed of al Qaeda to

those cells. Now it seems popping up across Europe.

Much anger, though, here in Yemen. It's a quiet moment behind me because it's Friday prayer here in the capital Sanaa, but concerns of

protests in the streets later on. A lot of anger at the image of the Prophet Mohammed in the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo, an angry government

thinking potentially they feel Yemen is being scapegoated. But a lot of questions to be answered here.

So many of the roads going back to Yemen. And so far so many of the answers sketchy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was Nick Paton Walsh reporting from Yemen.

Now still ahead right here on News Stream, Google says farewell to Glass. We'll look at why the company is stopping sales of its smart

glasses next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now it's not long since it was called the hottest gadget in the new wave of wearable tech, but less than two years on Google has announced that

it is halting sales of its $1,500 smartglasses.

Now the company says Google Glass development will shift. And some say that signals wearable tech is struggling to find its place in the

market.

But does this really mean an end to Google Glass? Well, to help me answer that I'm joined by our regular contributor Nick Thompson. He is the

editor of the New Yorker.com. He joins us now.

Nick, good to see you.

And first let's get this straight. I mean, this announcement does not mean Google Glass is dead, right?

NICK THOMPSON, NEW YORKER.COM: I think actually quite the opposite, right. Lots of the press has reported oh my gosh Google Glass is dead.

That's it. But what they've actually done is they've just moved it to a new division, they've put a new person in charge, and they've said instead

of testing and developing this in public we're going to hide it for awhile. We'll be back in the year, maybe we'll be back in a year-and-a-half and

we'll have something new and ideally it will work a lot better and you'll like it a lot more than you've liked it so far, because we know you didn't

like it.

LU STOUT: Now Google Glass is now run by Tony Fidel. Who is he? And where could he take Google Glass next?

THOMPSON: Well, this is what's so interesting about it. So Tony Fidel first worked at Apple and then he moved to Nest. And he built these

thermostats, which are actually pretty cool. And somebody who can make thermostats look cool and be an object of desire is probably somebody who

can figure out the fundamental problem that Google has with Google Glass, which is that nobody wants to wear them on their face, right.

There are lots of interesting parts in your body where you can put a computer, like on your wrist. Putting it on your face is a really risky

move, because people look at it.

The Google Glasses, people have thought, are ugly. So now what Tony Fidel has to do is to figure out how to make them not feel ugly, not to

make them feel intrusive on other people. So he's got just the right background to do this. And we'll see whether he can succeed.

LU STOUT: And your thoughts about where the next iteration of design could go next. I mean, what are the potential best applications for a

wearable device, a wearable device worn above the eyes?

THOMPSON: Right. I mean, wearable devices are going to be huge this year, but they're going to be watches, right, which is a much more natural

place to put a wearable device.

But there are lots of reasons why it would be great to have a wearable device on your face. It's right in your line of sight. You're gathering

information about the world. You can see lots of reasons why it would be great if this worked.

So to your question how do you do it, it seems like the obvious thing to do is you build it into the glasses that people already wear, right. I

wear glasses often during the day. If I had a little computer in them, that could provide a real benefit to me.

So you've got to solve that problem. Solve the design problem. How do you embed a computer without destroying the look.

And then the second thing is the problem hasn't just been that they've been ugly, it's that they've alienated people who are around folks with

Google Glass, because they think they're being recorded or watched and observed in ways that are creepy. It's been very surprising I think to the

people at Google and all the people who are enthusiastic at the launch just how socially awkward these devices are.

So, somehow Google also has to change the social norms and expectations around people who wear Google Glass.

LU STOUT: Wow. Changing design and social norms as well. We'll see where it goes next.

Nick Thompson joining us from New Yorker.com. Thank you, Nick. We'll talk again soon.

Now, let's turn now to another tech giant, this one in China. As we told you on Thursday Xiaomi has just unveiled a smartphone that it hopes

can rival the iPhone, but it is also launched a slate of other products. Will Ripley sat down with the company's Vice President Hugo Barra and asked

about Xiaomi's strategic focus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what is Xiaomi? A smartphone maker or a smart device manufacturer?

HUGO BARRA, XIAOMI VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah, so it's both, right. It's a little bit of both.

And the way we like to think about it is we want to grow up with our fans, with our Mi fans. It's to offer the Xiaomi lifestyle, this sort of

automated, seamless lifestyle so that increasingly we can be bigger and more part of their lifestyle.

It's a pretty geeky lifestyle, and that's by design. But that's exactly the goal.

RIPLEY: And you want to have really loyal customers, almost like a cult following basically?

BARRA: That's right. And we want that loyalty to come from repeat purchase of our products because they enjoy the experience. They feel like

they're part of it. They're filing bugs.

RIPLEY: And that's what is helping build such a strong brand here.

We know you're really popular in China. You have a foothold now in India. Where does Xiaomi want to go next?

BARRA: So we're going to spend a lot of 2015 really focused on the Indian market. It's a very significant market. It's very, very complex.

It's highly competitive. And Indian consumers are probably the most demanding in the world, which I think is something that a lot of people

don't know.

We'll also start paying attention to Brazil and Indonesia, also very competitive markets. So we want to spend some time in those markets before

we really start thinking beyond that.

RIPLEY: OK, so five years down the road where do you see Mi products being sold?

BARRA: Everywhere in the world, without a doubt.

RIPLEY: Including Europe and the United States?

BARRA: Absolutely. Of course.

RIPLEY: Are you feeling competition from other Chinese tech companies? I think of Huawei, for example. Are you feeling competition to

be the first, to be the biggest on a global scale, to have that global footprint?

BARRA: The amount of competition that's starting in China and that's taking now place at a global stage is insane. So I really, really do think

that the world is going to be very, very different in a couple of years once all of these players -- not only Xiaomi, some of these other players,

have had the chance to really expand globally and translate their product positioning to other markets.

RIPLEY: There have been complaints, allegations from some critics, from Apple, that some of your devices are essentially copies of their

devices. And last year when we talked to you, you basically said that that comes from a place of respect, that your company is a big fan of Apple.

But the response that we then got from Jony Ive was, and I'm reading this quote here, "I don't see it as flattery, I think it's theft and it's

lazy." You're response.

BARRA: Well, I think our response is the new product that we've just launched, right. So this is Mi Note. It's a 5.5 inch device that's

incredibly beautifully designed. And I don't think anyone is going to look at this product and say that it looks like anything that's been designed by

anybody else.

I think it's pretty much the end of that copy cat discussion.

RIPLEY: But you're not shying away from the comparison being called China's Apple. I mean, yesterday Lei Jun is on stage and there are

graphics comparing the iPhone 6 plus and the Mi Note.

BARRA: Yeah, it is true. We are very open, transparent company. We're very engineering led. We're presenting to, you know, a big group of

geeks who will inevitably compare the product that we were just unveiling, you know, Mi Note to iPhone 6 plus, which is, you know, Apple's largest

screen device.

People are going to have strong opinions, inevitably. And that's OK, right. We love being part of the conversation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Xiaomi's vice president Hugo Barra.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Don Riddell is up next.

END