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Anti-Immigrant Clashes Flare in Durban, Johannesburg; Chaos in Aden; Comedians in India Take on Telecom with Net Neutrality Video. Aired 8:00- 9:00a ET

Aired April 17, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:23] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now chaos and desperation in the Yemeni city of Aden. Residents beg for help to reach safety. It's a report you'll only see on CNN.

Plus, fresh clashes in South Africa. We'll explain what's behind the recent attacks on immigrants there.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing worse than no Internet is slow Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Comedians in India highlight net neutrality, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to stand up for the issue.

The situation in Yemen in growing dire as the country suffers under civil war. The United Nations is now appealing for more than $273 million

in humanitarian aid to help Yemen in the coming months.

Now the UN's relief group says 150,000 people have been displaced by the fighting there. And at least 767 people have been killed, that's in

the past four weeks alone.

Now Yemen's coastal city of Aden, it remains divided as fighting goes on between government loyalists and Houthi rebels.

Now our Nima Elbagir traveled to Aden by sea to get this exclusive look at the human toll there. And a warning, the images you're about to

see may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the shores of Aden. Aden has seen some of the fiercest fighting since the conflict in

Yemen began.

We're not able to go into the main port, so it is just too insecure for us to dock in there. We're going into the side port of al Zowahi (ph).

And there's where our ship is now turning into.

But even here the fighting between Houthi rebels and Yemeni government supporters is never very far away.

Our boat can't dock directly at port, so we climb into smaller boats for the journey to shore.

Aden is Yemen's second largest city. Three weeks into the fighting here and we arrive in a town awash with sewage and watchful checkpoints.

This is Basuheb (ph) hospital. It was originally a military hospital, but because of the way that the fighting is isolating these communities and

cutting off neighborhoods, it has become the de facto general hospital.

This is the pharmacy. This is actually the medicine store. This is all they have here.

We're going into the ICU, the intensive care unit.

Ahmed (ph) is 5 years old. Ahmed shares he ward with a man whose lungs flood with blood as he struggles to breathe.

Ahmed (ph) wants the doctor to tell us he didn't cry when he was brought in bleeding from his stomach and hasn't cried since.

10-year-old Amira (ph) is down the hall from Ahmed. She lay bleeding for three days, her mother told us, as the mortars rained down on their

house.

The other side of the front line from Az Dowahi (ph) is Ma'alaa (ph). Here, civilians caught in the clashes are brought to the local neighborhood

clinic.

A cameraman filmed this and sent it into us, because it is still too dangerous to cross over.

The doctors and nurses here do what they can with what little they have.

Aden feels desolate and abandoned, hollowed out by the fighting. The fear of snipers hangs heavy over the empty streets.

Around the window of the neighborhood bakery is the only crowd we've seen today.

People queue every day all day. There is a queue outside this bakery and all the others like it in Aden 24 hours a day.

Inside the bakery, we soon see why.

Hamid Zaid (ph) is the owner of this bakery. And he wanted to show us that this is it. This is all the flour that they have left. And when

that's gone, there is no more.

In the hills overlooking Aden, the shelling has begun.

The districts pro-government military commander is being backed by Saudi Arabai and it's coalition.

[08:05:07] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are sending support out they don't really reach us. They drop them from the sky and it lands amidst the

traitors and thieves. We have a lot of problems. We need weapons, we need rifles, surface to air missiles. We are facing down tanks with machine

guns.

ELBAGIR: Over the sounds of the Houthi forces mortars he tells us we didn't want this war, but we will defend ourselves.

The airstrikes are starting early today. We have to leave before it gets dark. With nightfall in Aden come the bullets, the mortars and the

bombs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Desperate scenes there in Aden. And Nima joins me now live from a boat of the coast of Djibouti.

And Nima, it's been just weeks of airstrikes there in Yemen. Where does the conflict stand now in the port city of Aden. Who has the upper

hand?

ELBAGIR: Well, it's definitely not as far along as the Saudi-led coalition would like it to be. The sense is that in the last few days, and

definitely when we arrived there that much of the Houthi advantage had been a little undone. The port -- the main port is still very heavily

contested. But at one point it was entirely in Houthi-held hands.

So, that is a little bit of a stepback for the Houthi-led forces and the forces that are allied with -- are loyal to former President Ali Abdul

al Saleh.

But at the same time, there is also an impasse. There is a reality that very little is able to get in and out of the city. Even just for us

to get in there, it took 30 hours by boat. And we could only spend a scant few hours on the ground. People really feel like they're being hemmed in

between the fighting to the north of them, Houthi advance to the north of them and the sea behind them. And they really feel they have very, very

few options right now. They're feeling abandoned is the word, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, exclusive reporting by our Nima Elbagir reporting right now off the coast of Djibouti. But you saw her exclusive

report just now, the fierce fighting inside Aden, the port city of Yemen. Thank you for that, Nima.

Now let's go to South Africa where anti-immigrant violence is spread to Johannesburg. Earlier today, machete armed residents set the businesses

of immigrants on fire. Now police there, they have been firing rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. And keep in mind, this is just the latest

in a spate of violent attacks in recent days.

Now these are the pictures from Durban with thousands have sought refuge after violence drove them from their homes.

Now CNN's Diana Magnay is in that neighborhood in Johannesburg where police have been using force to clear the streets. Diana, what happened

there? What's the latest now?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATION CORRESPONDENT: ...are burned out -- body shop, car repair shop, Kristie, that was set on fire at about midnight

last night by local South Africans who all assembled (inaudible) down the road there, which is a hospital where a lot of (inaudible)

LU STOUT: OK, unfortunately we're having technical issues with that connection with our correspondent Diana Magnay on the ground there on the

xenophobic anti-immigrant violence that has been taking place in South Africa from Durban now spreading to Johannesburg.

If we can reestablish that line we'll go back to Diana as soon as we can.

Now, meanwhile, a Chinese journalist, she's known for speaking out on press freedom, she has been put in jail.

Now after the break, we take a closer look at the sentencing of Gao Yu, which activists are calling harsh and unwarranted.

Also ahead, a teary reunion. Families ripped apart by a violent war in Cambodia have managed to find each other again through a reality TV

show.

Also ahead, despair and horror in the Mediterranean, a dozen of migrants are suspected of throwing fellow passengers off a ship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:11:18] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now the latest on that wave of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa, it spread from Durban to Johannesburg, Diana Magnay is in a

neighborhood in Johannesburg where police have been using rubber bullets to clear the streets. And Diana, she joins us now.

And Diana, tell us more what happened there?

MAGNAY: ...of local South Africans away from crowds of foreigners. This part of Johannesburg is called Jeppitown (ph). It's largely West

Africans. There are a lot of Nigerians, Ghanaians.

This shop behind me was a body shop, a car repair shop, set on fire last night at around midnight after the locals had looted it basically of

everything that was in there. The Nigerian shop owner says he doesn't know what he is going to do now, if the South Africans want the foreigners out,

then they need to give us some time. But, you know, this interview that I just did with him was desperate in the face of lost business and fear for

his life.

Down there is a hostel where the South Africans have been gathering this morning armed with machetes, anything they can get their hands on,

Zulu spears, Zulu shields -- a lot of them are from KwaZulu-Natal which is where Durban is, where the majority of this anti-immigrant violence

happened over the course of the past week.

Five people have been killed so far. And in Johannesburg, you just get the sense that they're going to keep going. At the moment, there's a

bit of a lull. The police have been firing rubber bullets to keep the sides apart.

But it's the past few nights or anything to go by you can expect the violence, the burning of the shops to continue tonight also Kristie.

LU STOUT: Violent anti-immigrant attacks across the country. Diana Magnay reporting live from Johannesburg in South Africa. Thank you.

Now in China, a prominent journalist Gao Yu has been convicted of revealing state secrets. She's bee sentenced to seven years in prison.

Now police arrested her last year ahead of the Tienanmen anniversary. And she then went through a closed-door trial in November.

Now Gao's lawyer says that she will appeal and that the conviction was based on a forced confession that Gao has since retreated.

Now, according to the committee to protect journalists, China was the worst in the world when it comes to jailing journalists in 2014. And CNN's

Natalie Allen spoke earlier to the group's Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz. He talked about the climate in China and previous contact he had

with Gao Yu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB DIETZ, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: I met her in 2008 in Paris, in April just before the Olympics in Beijing were to get underway in

the summer. And we were both speaking on the -- you know, before the Olympics, China had made promises that it would allow foreign media and

would release, or ease up on its media restrictions.

And I was making some positive comments about this, that there might be hope for China. And she took me down a peg, or maybe more than one or

two pegs. She said I was full of naive to think that there would be any long-term concessions from the government.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you believe her now?

DIETZ: Gao Yu was right and I was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Bob Dietz there. Now the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong has released a statement expressing concern for the 71 year old's

health. Now the group, also called for change in China saying this, quote, the incarceration of reporters who are doing their job by shining a light

on issues in China today must end.

Now it has been a rough go of it for Sony Pictures. North Korea hacked them and now WikiLeaks has given that data breach maximum exposure.

WikiLeaks has published a searcheable database of every Sony email and document that was stolen by hackers last year. CNN's Will Ripley has more

from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:20] WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For Sony Pictures' parent company here in Tokyo this really is like the sequel to a bad movie,

something that Sony had been trying to move on from after those very damaging and embarrassing leaks late last year.

What WikiLeaks has done is they've taken all of the information that was already out there in raw data form and they've compiled it, indexed it,

and made it much more easy, much more searcheable. Essentially it's like a Google search now where you type in a name or a term and a whole list will

pop up. That's much less time consuming and labor intensive than it was earlier when news organizations and journalists had to sift through volumes

of somewhat obscure information.

And what this means for Sony potentially more embarrassing insights into the company's operations, and more embarrassing information that has

not yet come to light.

Now, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange defending WikiLeaks actions saying, quote, "this archive shows the inner workings of an influential

multinational corporation. It is newsworthy and at the center of a geopolitical conflict. It belongs in the public domain."

Sony Pictures responding with, quote, "we vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and

will continue to fight for the safety, security and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees."

Now some of the headlines that are coming out now include revelations that Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lyton and other Sony executives were very

closely aligned with the Democratic Party in the United States. Lyton actually attending a Democratic fundraising dinner with President Obama and

other top level executives attending Democratic Party fundraisers in the U.S. as well, and we can expect even more revelations and more information

to come out in the days to come as many journalists, bloggers and anyone with curiosity around the world can now search through all of the data

available quite easily on WikiLeaks.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT; You're watching News Stream. And still to come, torn apart by the Khmer Rouge, but reunited by reality TV. Families in Cambodia are

still trying to recover 40 years on from the country's reign of terror.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:15] LU STOUT: Now it is a somber day in the German town of Cologne. Now people gathered there to remember those who died in last

month's Germanwings plane crash.

Friends and families paid their tribute in a cathedral service. Now the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the CEO of Germanwings owner

Lufthansa, they were there as well.

Now all 150 people on board the flight died when the plane went down in the French Alps. 16 of them were German schoolchildren returning from

an exchange in Spain.

Now CNN's Erin McLaughlin has been following this story from day one. She joins me in London. And Erin, how is Germany paying tribute to those

who lost their lives?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, it was a beautiful ceremony, emotional, somber, dedicated to remembering those

that were lost in this tremendous tragedy. We heard from Sara (ph), who gave a speech during the ceremony. Her last name was not given. She lost

a sister to flight 9525. And she spoke on behalf of the family and friends who had victims on board that plane. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They have lost loved ones. They are in pain. Lord, please wipe away our tears and please give us all

confidence and life. Please have all the relatives in Germany in France and Spain, let the laugh in the middle of the morning be stronger than

desperation.

God, please help us and protect us always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, tears seeming to prevent her from finishing her own speech. Today, they mourned all 150 people that were on board that ill-

fated flight according to German media reports, they lit 150 candles, including a candle for Andreas Lubitz the 27-year-old co-pilot accused of

purposefully crashing the plane. The archbishop who helped preside over the ceremony was quoted in German magazine Bild saying that this was not

about judging, or they're not in a position of judging Lubitz's actions.

We also heard from the German President Joachim Gauck. He said that we may never know what Lubitz was thinking in those final moments before

the plane crash. But he had a message of compassion for Lubitz's family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOACHIM GAULK, PRESIDENT OF GERMANY (through translator): We do not truly know what was on his mind in the decisive second, or in these

minutes, but what we know is that also his relatives lost a loved one on 24th of March, and that person also left a gap in their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: We also heard from two recovery workers, part of that team that helped to recover human remains as well as plane parts from the

French mountainside. They presented wooden crosses to the families as well as to dignitaries from France, Germany and Spain as well as to the

Germanwings CEO saying that they hoped it would give him strength. So this was about mourning this incredible loss in the words of the Lutheran pastor

who also spoke at the ceremony. She said in mourning, human dignity is found -- Kristie.

[08:25:01] LU STOUT: It's a beautiful ceremony for such a horrific event. Erin McLaughlin reporting, thank you.

Now today marks 40 years since the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia's largest city Phnom Penh.

Now the group was responsible for a reign of terror across the country that led to the deaths of some 2 million people. Now families were

separated, and decades later survivors are still trying to find each other. Anna Coren has the emotional story of one family's reunion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a dimly lit TV studio in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, a 49 year old woman sits on stage

in tears.

She's sharing a story everyone in the audience knows painfully well. They've lived through the trauma. Its etched into their weathered faces.

"I want to find my younger sister," says Lee Sivong (ph). "The last time I saw her, I was 13, she was 10. I think she was the only family

member to survive."

Lee's life was destroyed when in 1975 Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army began one of the largest genocides of the 20th Century. In the space of

four years, a quarter of the Cambodian population was wiped out, almost 2 million people tortured, executed and starved as a way to cleanse the

nation.

Surviving family members were forcibly separated and sent to work in the countryside.

Lee ended up in a refugee camp and was evacuated to the United States as part of a humanitarian mission, her little sister lost amidst the

suffering and misery.

While Cambodia's cannibalization ended almost 40 years ago, it's been extremely challenging for those trying to find their kin.

That was until "It's Not a Dream" was launched. The reality TV show, the brainchild of Viatel (ph) phone company, has a dozen young staff all

born after the war traveling the country trying to reconnect loved ones.

"It keeps us all alive doing this week. It's like magic when we find these people who have been separated for so long."

Since 2009, it has received more than 1,500 requests to find family members. So far, they've succeeded in 54 cases, including Lee's.

After an outpouring of emotion, the two sisters who continue to wipe away their tears are asked if they recognize this old family photo, then

the woman in this video.

Recognizing her voice, Lee says she is my mother.

The hosts then asks do you want to meet your mother?

Daughters reuniting with the mother they thought had perished. In a country still struggling to come to terms with the atrocities committed

against its own people.

Anna Coren, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Wow, moving scenes of heartbreak and healing there.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, police in Italy they're investigating possible murders on a migrant ship carrying

both Muslim and Christian passengers.

And, moving the needle on Internet policy with a comic rant that's gone viral. I'll talk to comedian Tanmay Bot about India's fight for net

neutrality.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:11] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now the United Nations is appealing for more than $273 million in humanitarian aid to help Yemen in the coming months. The UN's relief group

says 150,000 people have been displaced by the ongoing fighting and at least 767 people have been killed in the past four weeks alone.

Anti-immigrant violence is spreading in South Africa. In Durban, thousands have sought refuge after attacks by crowds armed with machetes.

Now the violence has now spread to Johannesburg. Police there fired rubber bullets earlier today to disperse crowds setting immigrant businesses on

fire.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a memorial service at Cologne cathedral for victims of Germanwings flight 9525. All 150 people on board

the plane were killed when it went down last month in the French Alps.

Italian authorities have arrested 15 Muslim migrants suspected of murdering a dozen of their fellow passengers just because they were

Christian.

Now police say the men threw the victims overboard during their voyage from Libya to Italy.

Ben Wedeman has more on the arrests and Italy's growing migrant crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They made it alive, relief revealed in a shy smile.

The Italian coast guard managed to rescue them from six rubber dinghies off the shores of Libya.

This group of almost 600 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa brings the total number of people who have arrived on the Italian coast in the last

six days to almost 11,000.

But among them, 10 men were arrested from Gambia, Mali and Senegal, suspected of being human traffickers, while in Palermo Italian police are

holding 15 men suspected of throwing a dozen migrants off a boat and to their deaths after a fight broke out. All 12 were Christians from Nigeria

and Ghana.

And another boat has sunk. Only four people surviving from the original 45 on board, bringing the estimated death toll so far in the

Mediterranean close to 1,000.

Some of the migrants end up here at residence Delle Arancci (ph) in the shadow of Mt. Etna. Until 2011, it was home to U.S. military personnel

and their families.

It's now guarded by the Italian army, the new residents are free to come and go as they please. The press, however, is not allowed in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is good.

WEDEMAN: Abu Bakar from South Sudan says he gets work sometimes on farms and has no complaints about his treatment, while 22 year old Abd

Razek (ph) from Darfour Sudan is grateful for Italian hospitality.

"I've heard they have economic problems here," he tells me. "But they've done what they can to help us."

But with this steady and mounting influx of migrants, it's not clear how much longer Italy will be able, or willing, to help.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Augusta, Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, an unlikely group weighs in on the issue of a free and equal internet in

India. After the break, find out why an Indian comedy troupe has a very strong opinion on net neutrality.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:34] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now Director JJ Abrams is giving fans around the world another sneak peek into his upcoming Star Wars movie.

Now spoiler alert, it does indeed feature the return of Harrison Ford as Han Solo. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: Chewie, we're home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: I love that part.

Now the trailer, it goes on to hint at the presence of Luke Skywalker who narrates part of the teaser.

Now, let's turn to India where Save the Internet has become a popular rallying cry.

Now telecom firms there are announcing that they will make certain apps free for users if those businesses pay them to do so.

Now, some net neutrality activists are turning to humor to explain why a free and equal internet matters. Now the Indian comedy group AIB breaks

it down in this quirky explainer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is net neutrality and why should I care?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Net neutrality means...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, all content is equal and all sites must be equally accessible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Net Neutrality means that whether it's a (inaudible) radio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or a breaking news report about a terrorist attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or a cat gif.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All content on the internet is equal and must be equal always.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever your choice, neutrality means that once you have an internet plan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should be allowed to access any website you want.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without discrimination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, neutrality also means that no matter what telecom operator you're with you should...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...access all data on the internet at the exact same speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simply put, just because your telecom company hypothetically has a deal with, like, say FlipDot...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...shouldn't mean that they can make the Amazon website or an independent retailer's website load slower for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So slow in fact that you eventually give up and you're forced to shop at FlipDot, because it's the only one that opens

fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Except right now telecom operators want the option of doing exactly that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

Which sucks, because let's be honest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing worse than no internet is slow internet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now that video if you haven't seen it, you should. It's a good one.

It got over 2 million views in the last week. And I spoke with one of the comic members of AIB, Tanmay Bhat about the response to that online

call to action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TANMAY BHAT, COMEDIAN: The idea of Net Neutrality, to do a video about it was pretty simple. We found out about the issue. It was

something that we had followed on -- I think (inaudible) John Oliver had done an episode on his show on HBO. And we've seen that episode and that's

the first time we understood what net neutrality is.

And then the issue came up in India. And our only thought we had doing the video was reasonable, which is we have a very young set of users

who access our content. The -- a lot of college students, a lot of the youngsters in India follow our YouTube channel. And we just wanted to make

the issue accessible to them, which is why we decided to do an explainer video that's kind of funny, keeps it interesting, keeps it light. You

know, content that young people would easily consume.

That was the whole point behind it. We never thought it would go this viral. We were thinking is how can we use our platform to educate and

inform our subscribers. That was about it.

LU STOUT: And bravo on the video. I mean, it's -- I took a look at the clip. It is very informative. It is very, very funny. And you really

get into the nitty gritty of this Indian telecom consultation paper.

Was it difficult for you to sort of get into this very geeky telecom policy issue and get a laugh at the same time?

[08:40:08] BHAT: I think what happened was that we went to the website on the telecom (inaudible). And we took us a bit to even figure

where the (inaudible) is, which was kind of fishy, because given how important the issue is we're like what's happening here.

Then once you went through it, it's 120 page long document. And the TRAI, their job is to look out for consumers by law, according to the

(inaudible) act. But once you read the paper you realize that it is so skewed towards corporate interests. And for example one of the four

questions they ask is, is it too early to regulate ODB (ph) services. And our questions was, what do you mean it's too early? Your question is so

biased. You're essentially saying we have to do this, but is it too early to do it right now?

At no point did it feel like the consumers interests were being taken into consideration.

And I mean, it's things like health issue and you know the internet has a psychological impact on people. It seemed like a lot of jargon for

no reason.

So we took help off some of these activist guys and saw the TED guys (ph) who were following this in detail. And they simplified it for us.

There's a very dedicated team working in Bangalore who is now translating this into multiple languages so more people can get involved. And it's a

(inaudible) down for us.

And then we sat down and went, OK, here's what's funny about it. Here's what's funny about this. Here's -- there's a joke waiting to write

itself there. And then we just simplified it and that's how we wrote it.

LU STOUT: It went viral in a very big way there in India. Is it because people there in India are concerned, are passionate about the issue

of net neutrality?

BHAT: So what happens was we made the video, but we realized that the video just in itself doesn't directly help get our message across to the

telecom regulatory authority of India. And the only way it would work is if the general public directly replied to the telecom regulatory authority

of India.

So, they set up the website. They wrote down the answers to the 20 questions that we were supposed to answer, made it extremely accessible,

really dumbed it down so everyone could understand.

And once the website was up, then we uploaded the video. So, a very definite hook, which is here is the problem, here is what you can do about

it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Comic and net neutrality advocate Tanmay Bhat there.

Now that video it got a huge response, more than 600,000 users have sent emails through the Save the Internet campaign in India. It's also had

an impact on Facebook and its internet.org initiative.

Now several sites in India have pulled out saying that it violates the spirit of net neutrality.

Now internet.org, it provides free access to certain sites to help bring the web to rural users. and a few hours ago on Facebook, Marc

Zuckerberg strongly defending internet.org saying, quote, "universal connectivity and net neutrality can and must coexist.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. World Sport is next.

END