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Boko Haram Launch Attack in Chad; Pakistani Taliban Attacks Shiite Mosque; Art of Movement: The Netherlands Windmills; Interview with YouTube Comedian Ryan Higa

Aired February 13, 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 armed gunmen open fire on a mosque in Pakistan. Pakistani Taliban call it revenge.

Plus, Boko Haram militants reportedly stage their first deadly attack inside Chad.

And, a fragile ceasefire set to begin Sunday in Ukraine where many fear the agreement could fall apart before it has even a chance to take

hold.

We begin with a developing story. Now the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Shiite mosque in Peshawar.

Now the suicide bombing and gunfire killed 19 people, 67 were injured.

As many as five armed militants stormed the mosque hurling hand grenades. At least one militant blew himself up in the suicide attack.

Now CNN's Saima Mohsin is tracking developments from Lahore. She joins us now on the line. And Saima, this was a very deadly attach. What

more have you learned?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Deadly, Kristie, and vicious. They struck at a time of worship. They struck on the holiest day

of the week for Muslims, targeting Shiite Muslims this time in an Imambargah, that is a Shia place of worship. They struck in the middle of

Friday prayers as hundreds had congregated in this place of worship.

Now what we understand is that the terrorists were still not getting an exact number of how many there were. In fact, there is a search

operation, a manhunt underway right now tonight here in Pakistan trying to track down any of the remaining terrorists.

So, let me talk you through what exactly we know happened, Kristie. Now, we know that a number of terrorists scaled the wall and jumped from

behind this Imambargah into the place of worship.

Now, the -- and that is probably because the main road at the front of this mosque has been closed for the last two years because of the threat of

violence against the Shia community.

Now, they scaled the wall, they entered the area. One suicide bomber detonated his bomb killing himself and a number of others at the main

entrance. Another tried to get to the inner courtyard. It's an open space where people gathered to pray together side by side. He was about to

detonate his bomb when we understand a number of heroic members of the congregation grabbed him, not allowing him to detonate his suicide vest.

He was then killed by security guards on site.

A number of others taking the opportunity to throw grenades into the congregation. And that is, of course, what will have caused the damage and

of course lives lost, 19, killed at least, almost 70 injured, an emergency declared, Kristie, tonight at the local hospital in Hayatabad, in this

suburb of Peshawar.

And this of course not the first attack against the Shia community in Pakistan or not the first claimed by the Taliban -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, not the first attack. This comes just two weeks after another attack on another Shiite mosque in Pakistan. Why is this

happening? Why is the Shiite community being targeted? And could there be more attacks to come?

MOHSIN: Well, Kristie, it's interesting that we are talking about attacks on the Shia community. Of course we know it's not just the Shia

community that's been targeted. We know about that horrific attack on (inaudible) people at the army school in Peshawar as well just before

Christmas on the 16 of December.

But what is interesting is that it's now the Taliban, the Pakistan Taliban based in the tribal areas, that are now claiming responsibility for

these sectarian attacks as well.

You mentioned that attack just two weeks ago. More than 50 people -- in fact, almost 60 -- 58 killed in (inaudible). Now that is in the

southern most part of Pakistan in Sindh Province.

This, the diagonal opposite end of Pakistan in the northwest just outside Peshawar two weeks on today, a Shia Imambargah targeted yet again.

So, two sectarian attacks within a number of weeks.

The Pakistan Taliban releasing a statement saying that this is a revenge attack. Now let me talk you through why.

It's a revenge attack because one of their commanders was executed in a swift kind of public statement of action by the government after the

Peshawar school attack where we saw so many children and teachers killed.

So, the government responded swiftly. The Taliban are striking back.

And let's not forget the Taliban is under increasing pressure in the tribal areas over military continues to conduct an operation in north

Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan, trying to stop those militants from crossing over into Afghanistan and back into Pakistan to carry out attacks

in both countries.

So we have seen a series of escalations. This has happened in the past when we know the Taliban are coming under pressure. The question

still remains how are they able to (inaudible), how are they able to get into Pakistan's city -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Saima Mohsin on the line reporting on what's been called a revenge attack by the Pakistan Taliban. Saima, thank

you.

And now to breaking news out of Iraq. ISIS militants have taken full control of a town in western Iraq that is dangerously close to American

troops.

Now security officials tell us that the radical fighters have taken al Baghdadi, it's a town that is just 15 kilometers from the largest military

base still under government control in all of Anbar Province.

Now there are hundreds of U.S. military troops working with Iraqi pilots.

Iraqi forces there are calling for reinforcements.

Now meanwhile, CNN's Phil Black is tracking the fighting from northern Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind me is the town of Sinjar, an ISIS controlled town,one that was once home to hundreds of

thousands of people, members of the Yazidi religious sect. When ISIS first invaded, it triggered a humanitarian exodus. Thousands, tens of thousands

of them fled. The witness accounts say so many others were either executed or abducted. In the streets below, there is a fight going on as local

fighters try to clear the town of ISIS. We've also seen two fast moving military jets overhead, witnessed at least one that likely airstrike.

There is an effort to try and clear the town of ISIS, but the firm that ISIS has here is still very strong. And it shows that for all the

progress that has been made against ISIS in northern Iraq by Kurdish fighters mostly, the territory that they have taken back from ISIS -- ISIS

still remains in control of key towns and cities -- the town of Sinjar behind me, the town of Talafar (ph) and of course the major city of Mosul

still very much an ISIS stronghold.

It is in the west of the country, Anbar Province, that ISIS is still on the offensive, where it has maintained military momentum against the

Iraqi army and Sunni tribes who have been trying to stop them. A great deal of fighting around the town of al-Baghdadi. And Iraqi officials are

now telling us ISIS now has complete control of al-Baghdadi and from there are moving south towards the al-Asad air base.

That air base, it is a sprawling complex, one that has come under fire indirect fire, rockets, mortars in the past. Nothing substantial.

This could be different, because it's where there are hundreds of U.S. military personnel training the Iraqi army and other military personnel

there as well. And the latest word from Iraqi officials on the ground is that ISIS has sent a number of suicide bombers, perhaps as many as eight,

towards that facility. They say they have stopped that many so far, but it would seem that this could be a more sustained military threat than that

facility has known up until this point. And all of it very close to the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Phil Black, CNN, near Sinjar in northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And to Africa now where news agencies report that dozens of Boko Haram militants have attacked a fishing village in Chad. If

confirmed, it would be the first time the Nigerian militant group attacked in that country.

Now the reports say the jihadist group arrived on motorized canoes through Lake Chad. The number of casualties is not yet known. We'll have

an update later this hour.

And we're also closely watching the situation in Ukraine where violence continues in the eastern part of the country despite that

ceasefire deal that is set to take effect on Sunday.

Now leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France hammered out the accord in Belarus on Thursday, but the Ukrainian defense ministry says

eight Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in fighting over the last 24 hours.

Let's get more now from our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh who has been following events on the ground in eastern Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been hearing in the past few hours here shelling in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk

and the separatists say that in the neighboring region Luhansk three people were killed in shelling overnight and that yesterday in the town of

Golufkar (ph), not far from where I'm standing, three children were also killed by shelling.

Ukraine also reports in casualties on its side, but the fear is that Minsk agreement didn't actually say what the boundaries should be and let

the two sides potentially fight it out until the end of Saturday to live with borders that may have to contend with for months if not years. That's

the fear now that with violence swirling around the key town of Debaltseve, hundreds if not thousands of Ukrainian troops that the separatists say

they've encircled inside it, well that fight could really intensify in the hours ahead.

Vladimir Putin said in Minsk he thought those soldiers would given themselves up. So many questions unanswered. So little time left ahead of

that ceasefire. And so much that could derail it. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh there.

Now leaders in Ukraine are not expressing much optimism that the ceasefire agreement will hold. The country's prime minister says it is

better to have a deal than not, but that Ukraine only trusts actions, not words.

Now he spoke earlier to our Frederik Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARSENIY YATSENYUK, UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER(through translator): We have just two options: bad and worse. So we decided at this particular

period of time to get the bad option.

Probably this option will save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers an I hope. This option will save lives of Ukrainian civilians, of innocent

people who are under constant shelling of Russia-led terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now there are reports that the Kremlin says the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are still in touch over the crisis.

Now for more, CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins me now live from Moscow. And Erin, there are growing concerns over the success of the ceasefire deal

brokered in Minsk. What's the latest thinking there in the Russian capital?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie.

Well, today we heard from the spokesperson for the Kremlin who said that he hopes that those -- the Minsk agreements will be fulfilled, but

that Russia can't take action because Russia is not a participant in the conflict, clearly the Kremlin still denying Ukrainian and western

allegations that Russia has fueled the crisis with its own military personnel and equipment into eastern Ukraine.

In fact, Kiev accused Moscow of sending in Russian tanks across the border as the Minsk negotiations were underway.

Now the documents that the contact group agreed upon stipulates for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Ukraine. It didn't give a date.

But, you know, the question becomes how do you enforce something that Russia flat out denies.

And that agreement also stipulates when it comes to the Ukrainian border that Ukraine will only regain full control of its border until --

not until the end of 2015 and only then if a key political conditions are agreed upon first.

So it would seem that out of these talks Ukraine did not get one of the things that it perhaps wanted most, which is perhaps to stop Moscow

from meddling in its affairs. As for freezing the conflict, well the violence there continuing today. So all eyes will be on that region

Saturday night into Sunday morning to see if that ceasefire does, in fact, take hold.

LU STOUT: That's right, all eyes on Sunday and what happens then. Erin McLaughlin joining us live from Moscow, thank you.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, more details on the suspect of that horrendous shooting of three Muslim students in the United

States. And more on what the motive could be.

Also ahead, for the first time the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram marches into Chad and launches a deadly attack there according to reports.

We'll go live to Lagos for the latest.

Also ahead, YouTube marks an important milestone. It has been a decade since the internet channel get started. And we talk to one comedian

who found his fame on YouTube.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Bahar Mohammed have been released from a Cairo prison.

Now these are pictures of Bahar Mohammed after he was reunited with his wife and children. Now the journalists were granted bail after they

spent more than 400 days behind bars, but they still face a retrial on charges of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which they strongly deny.

Now to the U.S. state of North Carolina. The FBI has opened a preliminary inquiry into the murders of three Muslim college students to

determine if the attack was a hate crime.

Now on Thursday, the three victims who were 19, 21 and 23 years old all were laid to rest.

Jason Carroll is tracking the investigation and what may have triggered the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CAROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Chapel Hill, at the apartment complex where three Muslims were murdered Tuesday night, police

going door to door as part of their investigation.

(on camera): Hi there. Can we ask you guys how the investigation is going so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just going to say we are just canvassing and that's all we're doing at the moment.

CARROLL (voice-over): Flowers in front of the apartment where the victims lived, 23-year-old Deah Barakat, his 21-year-old wife Yusor, and

her 19-year-old Razan, who was visiting that day.

Their Craig Hicks now facing three counts of first degree, police say their preliminary investigation shows the deaths may have been the result

of an ongoing dispute over parking. One neighbor says Hicks had a reputation of being a hothead.

SAMANTHA MANESS, HICKS' NEIGHBOR: I have seen and heard him be very unfriendly to a lot of people in this community. Equal opportunity anger.

CARROLL: Another neighbor saying parking was an issue addressed by building management.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm assuming there was parking issues so I guess the association, I guess, the condo association released this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not about parking. The whole world is looking in on social media. They know what it's about.

CARROLL: The 46-year-old had been attending Durham Technical Community College studying to be a paralegal. The school spokesman described him as

an exemplary student who spent much of his time helping teachers and other students.

But Hicks's ex-wife described him in a much different way. According to "The Associated Press", the two divorced 17 years ago. His favorite

movie was "Falling Down," a movie about a man who goes on a violent rampage. She said, "He thought it was hilarious. He had no compassion at

all."

(on camera): Investigators have confiscated the suspect's computer which was located in his apartment. They're trying to determine if he had

any anti-Muslim leanings. A law enforcement source telling CNN the suspect told police he went into a blind rage after he saw a car allegedly

belonging to one of the victims parked in his spot.

(voice-over): Hicks's Facebook page did not appear to show him targeting Muslims. There were anti-religion posts. One reads, "Atheists for

equality." And this quote, "People say nothing can solve the Middle East problem. Not mediation, not arms, not financial aid. I say there is

something, atheism."

And on January 20th, he posted this picture with a caption, "Yes, that is 1 pound, 5.1 ounces for my loaded .38 revolver."

And in another post, he defends Muslims and criticizes Christians who were opposed to a planned mosque near Ground Zero writing, quote, "seems an

overwhelming majority of Christians in this country feel that the Muslims are using the Ground Zero mosque plans to mark their conquest, bunch of

hypocrites."

Jason Carroll, CNN, Raleigh, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, the Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is jumping into the U.S. market, but some

of its major products are missing from the lineup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now the Chinese smartphone market Xiaomi says it is opening an online store in the U.S. But it won't be selling phones or tablets, instead it

will offer accessories like fitness bands and headphones.

Now the company says it is holding off on higher end devices, because it is difficult to get them certified for the U.S. market.

Now this is Xiaomi's biggest foray into the western world. Until now, its products are officially sold only in Asia, although there have been

talks of expansion into Brazil.

Now it's hard to imagine life today without YouTube. The website was created 10 years ago. In fact, it was on Valentine's Day 2005 that three

former PayPal employees registered YouTube.com.

Now two months later, the first video was uploaded to the site. Me at the zoo, that was the name co-founder Jawed Karim, but no one was able to

see it until a few months later in May when the Beta version of the site finally launched.

And now YouTube has become a launchpad for thousands of internet celebrities. And one of them is the comedian Ryan Higa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN HIGA, COMEDIAN: Who are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you don't remember. Maybe this will help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now Ryan Higa specializes in funny videos that range from imaginative skits to pop culture commentary. Now the comedian boasts a

YouTube following of more than 13 million subscribers and his most popular video has been seen more than 57 million times.

Now earlier, he spoke to me about what it's like to be a YouTube star. And I started by asking who his audience is and why are they watching?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HIGA: For the most part it's kind of young. You know, for the -- I mean, why do they watch? I'm still trying to figure that out myself, you

know, I'm still trying to figure that out. I mean, I'm making videos with Legos, you know, as talking characters. So, I don't know, I just found

myself really fortunate that people even watch me in the first place.

LU STOUT: On your channel do you do how-to videos, comedy sketches, you do rants, and you upload a lot of content pretty regularly. So how do

you come up with fresh ideas?

HIGA: I'm not going to lie. It takes a lot of time. It probably takes more than -- filming is quick, editing is not too bad. But writing

takes me a long time. It's just -- I write 100 things and then one thing hopefully is decent. So, it's just writing a bunch of stuff.

LU STOUT: And is it fan generated? Do you listen to what your fans want and give them what they want?

HIGA: Well, it's not -- I mean, it's always like something I want to say usually or something I'm passionate about. And then, yeah, I have

series that's based -- basically like I -- they sent me comments and I make skits based on their comments. So a lot of it is, you know, what they want

to see and what's trending in their world, too.

LU STOUT: Now in the universe of YouTube there are so many celebrities, wannabe celebrities, artists, comedians like yourself. Do you

feel the pressure that you have to do something edgier, something more cool to just get above all the noise?

HIGA: Not necessarily. I mean, there's definitely a lot of other people, but I don't think that because someone is a fan of someone else

they can't be a fan of you. So I mean, I think it's more important just to stick to your own voice and not try and follow other voices, you know, and

try and copy what other people are doing.

LU STOUT: There's competition in the YouTube world, but is there cooperation as well? I mean, do stars hang out with each other? What's

that like.

HIGA: Yeah, I would say a majority of the YouTube -- I can't say everyone, but the majority of the YouTube community is all really

supportive and they call themselves like Team Internet whenever something good happens like being on this show it's like, oh, you're on TV. Go team

internet. You know, so just things like that. I mean, everybody is pretty supportive, you know, because you're usually very looked down upon.

We used to be at least.

LU STOUT: Yeah.

You have almost 14 million subscribers. How lucrative is what you're doing? How much money are you making?

HIGA: It's -- I mean, it also depends on the ads. Like a lot of it comes from the ads. But recently it's actually been getting by (inaudible)

or a lot better and better just because advertisers are, you know, more acceptable -- they're not afraid of this medium, they're starting to take

more risks. So it's becoming -- it's getting more lucrative I would say every year.

LU STOUT: And how do you stay relevant? I mean, because the internet is such a fast moving place, memes come and go. Celebrities come and go.

How do you stay fresh and relevant?

HIGA: That's, you know, a great question, because I'm still trying to figure that out. Luckily, I've been able to do this for a very long time,

almost nine years. But I think it's just, you know, finding the topics that people care about and for me in a way I'm just really fortunate that

my core fanbase helps me to do that. Like they help share the videos and they actually care about what happens to me.

So, they actually kind of take care of me in a way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: YouTube star Ryan Higa there.

Now the U.S. President Barack Obama is no stranger to social media and the internet. And his latest video is racking up some serious views,

nearly 21 million on Facebook alone.

And yes, you are looking at the leader of the free world. He is prepping and primping and mostly mugging for the camera just like he says a

regular guy does. And all this is part of a video with Buzzfeed to promote the health care initiative, to get young people to sign up for coverage by

Sunday's deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The deadline for signing up for health insurance is February -- Februr...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Some have been critical of the video saying that it is beneath the office of the president of the United States. But others say

it's a modern medium and an effective one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN LABOLT, FRM. PRESS SECRETARY, OBAMA 2012 CAMPAGIN: This is going to reach many more people than the president's weekly address or the sorts

of government PSAs you see week after week with a member of congress droning on about policy to the camera. It's the type of thing you see on

Facebook, you share with your friends. They'll see healthcare.gov. They'll see the date, February 15 and the deadline coming up.

So it doesn't beat you over the head, but it will be seen by many more people. And the White House really thinks that the Between Two Ferns

interview was one of the big turning points in enrollment the first time around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: So that's the thinking behind the video there.

Now Obama maybe the first U.S. President to pose with the selfie stick, but other U.S. presidents have toyed with emerging technologies. In

fact, George W. Bush is said to be the first president to deliver a radio address by podcast.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, the militant group Boko Haram has struck again for the first time in Chad.

We've got the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for a deadly attack at a mosque in Peshawar. At least 19 people were killed and 67 were

wounded. Now police say armed militants stormed the Shiite mosque, hurdling hand grenades and then shooting. At least one militant blew

himself up in a suicide attack.

ISIS militants have taken control of the town of al-Baghdadi in western Iraq, close to where American troops are stationed. It is just 15

kilometers from the largest military base still under government control in all of Anbar Province. And we'll have more on this developing story in the

next hour on World Business Today with Maggie Lake in New York.

Now violence continues in Ukraine despite that ceasefire deal that is set to take effect on Sunday. Now leaders from Russia, Ukraine, France and

Germany reach that peace accord in Belarus on Thursday, but according to the Ukrainian military at least eight soldiers have been killed in fighting

in the last 24 hours.

Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Bahar Mohammed have been released from a Cairo prison. Now these are pictures of Bahar after he was

reunited with his wife and children. Now the journalists were granted bail after more than 400 days behind bars. But they still face a retrial on

charges of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. It's something they deny.

Reuters reports dozens of Boko Haram militants have attacked a fishing village in Chad. Now if confirmed, it would be the first time the Nigerian

militant group attacked in that country.

Other reports the jihadist group arrived on motorized canoes through Lake Chad. The number of casualties is not known.

Now for more on Boko Haram's latest attacks let's go to CNN's Christian Purefoy. He joins us on the line from Lagos. And Christian,

have you been able to confirm Boko Haram has indeed launched its first attack in Chad?

CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie. I have not been able to independently confirm the reports. But to be honest, it really

comes as no surprise at this particular time. And it seems to be a worrying trend.

The report itself says that maybe up to five people were killed in a small village and military camp on the shores of Lake Chad in Chad. And

it's really is part of what is suddenly an explosion of Boko Haram activity not just no longer localized in Nigeria, but now affecting the entire

region.

This really is the beginning of a sort of nightmare scenario of Boko Haram where it is making attacks not just in Nigeria, not just in

neighboring Cameroon, but last week in Niger and now for the first time as you've said, in Cameroon.

Now this does come, Kristie, as all of these countries that made the announcement to push a military offensive into the region. About 8,700

troops have battled Boko Haram. Its timing couldn't really be better, if you like, or maybe this attack in Chad is a reaction to that by Boko Haram.

But you know despite (inaudible) by Chad in the last month or so in their recent push against Boko Haram, this attack in this village you know just

if these reports are true proves that this is not going to be an easy thing to get rid of this group that is now deeply embedded in that region --

Kristie.

LU STOUT: There has, as you put it, an explosion of activity by Boko Haram, the group now controlling a huge stretch of land that crosses

borders in Africa. I mean, why? What does Boko Haram want?

PUREFOY: Well, it's an extremely shadowy group and very little is known about it, Kristie. It's very difficult to know exactly what its aims

are.

Their -- the name itself, Boko Haram, is a sort of declaration against western education and a lot of its actions, particularly in Nigeria -- for

example the kidnapping of those girls are a war, if you like, against education.

But it is much wider than that. And I think really that, you know, if you look through the prism of what they do, the ultra violence that do

going into dorm rooms and students and slaughtering them, suicide bombers, young girls with suicide bombs strapped to them and now just pushing their

violence out into the region, it really is getting (inaudible) as much instability as possible. And they thrive in that chaos. And that's where

they are most serious, particularly on the street level, but all of these governments in this region despite the new military offensive to varying

degrees, Kristie, they're all relatively politically unstable. And this sort of group Boko Haram thrives in that type of vacuum -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Christian Purefoy reporting. Many thanks indeed for that update.

Now news just into CNN now. Saudi Arabia has joined Italy and Germany in closing its embassy in Yemen. Now they say concern about

security and the increasing volatility prompted the closures.

Germany's embassy staff, they were flown out of the country just hours ago. The United States, Britain and France have already closed their

embassies there.

Now Yemen has been hit by fighting with rebels. The government has resigned. And there are questions about exactly who is running the

country.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, we travel to The Netherlands to meet a man who has been running windmills for decades. Now

he shows us what it takes to keep things on track.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now traditional windmills are an iconic and picturesque sight in The Netherlands. And it takes patience, hard work and an artistic touch to

keep them spinning smoothly.

Now in today's Art of Movement, we speak to the man whose passion keeps the tradition of the windmills alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PIET KEMPENAAR, WINDMILL OPERATOR: I'm Piet. Piet Kempenaar. I'm the mill (ph) of the windmill (inaudible).

LU STOUT: Here in the windmill dotted town of Zansachance (ph), Netherlands Piet Kempenaar's day always starts the same way.

KEMPENAAR: Yeah, every morning when I step in apart (inaudible) the barn, make the windows open, make some coffee and there I climb on.

I'm standing here on this platform. It's what the mill is doing during centuries, they're always starting them right here into the sky,

feel the power of the wind.

LU STOUT: Wind, the way it moves, the direction, the speed is what dictates the day's work.

The sails of the windmill work just like a sailboat, catching the air, pushing the wings around and powering the shafts below.

The tail is what is used to turn the windmill, move a poll 360 degrees.

Each part can be adjusted and tweaked to make the most of the wind that day.

Kempenaar find tuning his windmill's movements is more instincts than science, more art than mechanics.

KEMPENAAR: You must to have a special kind of feeling for technology. Sometime you hear a sound is a problem with the bearing. Sometimes you

listen to the (inaudible) on the water and you say, oh boy, your wind has changed direction.

LU STOUT: Built in the 1600s, windmill De Kaat (ph) is now a fully functioning paint mill. When the wind is really blowing, it turns the

granite stones, the weight of 3,000 kilos each. They grind down the limestone into a fine powder and pack it with pigments, turning the power

of the wind into paint.

It's a process that goes back to the area's roots.

KEMPENAAR: We be here in the oldest (inaudible) region of Europe. So the whole industrial revolution is born here in this wet and windy

location. It was all coming by Amsterdam. Amsterdam the main port of the world, main port of Europe for 300 years.

So, many boats arriving in the harbor of Amsterdam or on the coast, loaded with raw materials. And they need an industrial process.

LU STOUT: Today, the landscape here is a contrast. New factories towering over tradition, history trying to hold on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) 10,000 mills. And today there be 1,200 left. In this region, we've got five mills with professionals.

So, you keep your history still alive for the next generation even.

LU STOUT: It is a passion Kempenaar has had since he started his studies as a miller in 1978. And he hopes to preserve this art for as long

as the wind continues to blow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Didn't that feel like traveling back in time there?

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END