Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Is Apple Watch A Threat To Watchmakers?; European Leaders Debate Solution To Mediterranean Migrant Crisis; YouTube Opens Tokyo Studio; Tracking Dark Seoul Cyber Attack. Aired 8:00-9:00A ET

Aired April 23, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:18] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now mourning lives lost at sea: migrants are laid to rest in Malta as European leaders look for a way to solve the crisis that is hitting their

shores.

Plus, what if new airstrikes dim hopes for a diplomatic solution in Yemen?

And our weeklong focus on wearables continues. What does a watch connoisseur think of high-end electronics?

And we begin with a growing humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean. An interfaith funeral service was held for 24 migrants who died in a

shipwreck. Those laid to rest were just some of the more than 800 people estimated to have lost their lives.

The service, it took place just hours ago in Malta. The bodies of many of those believed to have been on the boat have yet to be recovered.

Despite the risk, migrants continue to stream on to Sicily's shores. The Italian coastguard says it rescued more than 200 people 60 kilometers

off the coast of Libya late on Wednesday.

And here is a look at the key routes migrants are taking from North Africa to Europe. And you can see Italy and Malta are the principle

destinations.

The EU plans to hold an emergency summit in just about an hour to address the crisis. And CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau joins me now live

from Rome.

And Barbie, as the world has been watching these scores of migrants arriving in Italy, European leaders they're scrambling to find a solution.

But what is the solution here?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's a good question. In fact, the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says it's time to stop with

the reaction and time to start with a strategy.

He thinks that, you know, one of the primary things they need to do is work together to stop the Human traffickers. But he pointed out yesterday

when he spoke to Italy's lower and upper house of parliament, the stopping the traffickers is not, in fact, going to stop people fleeing for more in

destitute situations. So he's asking the European Union to help set up refugee camps in some of these affected areas to try to get people to give

them an opportunity to apply for asylum without having to come to Italy to do so, Kristie. It's a difficult situation, though.

LU STOUT: Yeah, they want to set up more refugee camps. They're also looking at disrupting these human smuggling networks. But Barbie, what

about a long-term solution? What about stabilizing the economies and the political strife in the countries where the migrants come from? Is that

going to be up for discussion among EU leaders?

NADEAU: Well, you know, the European Union has enough of a difficult time trying to destabilize the economies here in Europe. And I think that

the priority will be seen to deal with those sorts of priorities first rather than getting into the economies of those countries.

I mean, I think everybody understands that a lot of these people have no choice but to ask for political asylum in places like Europe. I think a

priority will be to help them do that before it will be to intervene in those countries. There are just too many priorities here in Europe for

these leaders to deal with in order to do that if you look at Greece and even Italy's economies, for example.

But right now, the situation is, you know, they are discussing policy in Brussels, but they're dealing with an emergency, logistical nightmare

here in Italy. And there's a huge gap between those two schools of thought.

So, the Italians are still at the front line. There's a rescue operation going on right now. 200 people were brought in to Catania Port

this morning, including four pregnant women who were found on a rubber dinghy that was losing air quickly.

You know, every story is worse than the last story. And it just is getting worse.

LU STOUT: Barbie Nadeau reporting on the EU summit to address the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, many thanks indeed for your reporting.

Those migrants fleeing violence in Africa, they're hoping to start a new life in Europe, a new life for themselves, and many times for their

children.

Now our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh reports from Tripoli.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You talk about the problem Europe has, obviously the problem that Libya has far greater to

some degree. And behind me, just a tiny fraction of it, 350 people here, predominately from African countries, a third of them it's said to be, from

Eritrea, some staggering stories, too.

I should tell you one, born yesterday, a little girl Sabrine, now her mother traveled for seven months from Somalia here to Libya to make the

crossing, cross in a ship when she was literally nine months pregnant, caught on that ship and gave birth a week later.

We're hearing from one official in charge of this president. In fact, some of the women make the journey knowing that they are pregnant,

deliberately pregnant you might say, perhaps hoping that they may affect the privileges or rights their children have if born if they safely get

through to Europe.

But it's interesting behind me, too. When you ask the men why are you here? What brought you to Libya, they all say that they were arrested at

work. They say that they were simply trying to earn money here to send back to their families. They all deny that they had a longer-term plan to

head towards Europe.

And that's not what the officials running this facility say. They say everybody without exception pretty much was caught trying to get on a ship

or actually on a ship here. But it is that extraordinarily perilous route that they face.

Looking at the numbers so far this year, about one in 10 may lose their lives, but then I think if you ask the men behind me here coming from

countries like Niger, Somalia, where intense poverty, violence causes many of them to make this choice, that nine in 10th change, perhaps, of reaching

Europe is for them something it's worth trying to risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:06:15] ANDERSON: That was Nick Paton Walsh reporting from Tripoli.

Now some migrants have been sharing their stories with CNN, including a Syrian refugee who took a smuggler ship from Turkey to Italy just this

past December. You can check out his editorial on CNN.com to find out why he says it was worth it.

And now to the conflict in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition is still pounding Houthi targets on the ground despite saying two days ago that it

would end its air campaign. Now residents told the Reuters News Agency that airstrikes hit targets around the city's of Aden and Ibib.

Now officials with Yemen's defense ministry say Houthi positions in three parts of Sanaa were also hit. They Agence France Presse also has

similar reports from people in Ta'izz and in other areas.

Now, again, these attacks continue even though the Saudis said on Tuesday that the air campaign was ending.

Now Becky Anderson joins me now live from Abu Dhabi with more on this. And Beky, Saudi Arabia had announced the end of its bombing campaign and

yet the airstrikes go on in Yemen. Why is that?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we need some clarity on this, don't we?

I think we've got it. The Saudis insist that this action is consistent with the end of what was the month-long Operation Decisive Storm

as it was known, phase one as it were. And that Operation Renewal of Hope, phase two, is part political, part military.

These airstrikes Riyadh says, are to protect civilians from militia who are still on the ground. While behind the scenes all willing

stakeholders, they say, will work on the implementation of this UN resolution 2216 -- the politics.

This is how the Saudi ambassador to Washington explained it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: The Houthis should be under no illusion that we will continue to use force in order to stop them

from taking Yemen over by aggressive action. So that will not change.

We hope that they will participate in the political process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And they say they still will, that being the Houthis. But that remains to be seen, doesn't it at the moment. And that will be

clearer as the days go on.

It's not just in the air, or on the ground, though, Kristie, the things are tense. It's also in the waters off Yemen that things are

getting really complicated. Witness what could be an impending showdown between U.S. warships who are entering the Gulf of Aden, led by the U.S.

aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and an approaching flotilla of a Iranian cargo and military ships.

U.S. officials telling us the mission there for then is to monitor Iranian cargo vessels that could -- could, I underscore, deliver arms to

Houthi rebels.

We do remember the Saudi-led coalition emphatic that Iran has had military advisers working on the ground, that Hezbollah has been working in

the north of Yemen, and that these Houthi militia and allied forces have been getting arms from Iran.

The unanswered question at this stage: will the U.S. navy actually move to block those Iranian ships from entering Yemeni waters? Iran says

that they are there to deliver aid. They also say that they are on a legitimate piracy mission.

If we need reminding why this is complicated, and a complicated calculation for Washington, remember, Iran and other world powers meet for

a second day of nuclear talks in Vienna today, seeking to finalize a deal by June 30.

The consequence, then, of what is going on with Yemen genuinely not just for a regional audience -- Kristie.

[08:10:01] LU STOUT: Yeah, all eyes on the U.S. and especially those U.S. naval vessels to see what they're going to do next. Becky Anderson

reporting live for us. Thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come, as Armenia prepares to honor the lives of those killed by Ottoman Turks during World

War I. Turkey has remembrance of its own. Details on the centennials after the break.

Plus, incredible new pictures out of Chile: after almost 50 years, a volcano has erupted twice in 24 hours, turning as you can see the skies red

over southern Chile.

And later in the hour, a look at a brand new film studio in Tokyo, but these pictures aren't headed to the silver screen, they are original

features for YouTube. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now a volcano in southern Chile has erupted twice in just 24 hours. Authorities declared a Red Alert on Wednesday when it erupted for the first

time in almost half a century. Now the 2,000 meter mountain, it spewed this giant ash cloud in the Los Lagos region, and nearby residents were

evacuated.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning to you. And what a wild day it has been across portions of the southern tip of Chile.

Take a look at the images coming in from the overnight hours, of course just touching on this as far as how significant it was, because lightning

strikes. You don't typically see them within any sort of volcanic eruptions. You've got to have major eruptions for those to begin to

surface and to be able to see them typically in the initial stages is when they come about.

But, think about this, because on thunderstorms -- the average thunderstorm, typically, you have ice crystals, hail beginning to fall out

of it. The friction they create between one another, that's when you begin to get lightning strikes to form.

Lightning strikes within volcanoes very much the same.

Of course you have ash. You have largescale rocks and debris flowing into and out of this region as they get dispersed about, and then you have

enough friction to create enough of an electrical charge to create what we saw over the past 24 hours.

But, southern portion of Chile we go. Dive down there. Look at the perspective on satellite imagery from space. You can see the initial

eruption, pushes over the Andes, second eruption follows suit, the second one even more impressive than the initial one. Fortunately, no damage, no

injuries to report, but just about 30 kilometers away.

Port Oman (ph), port city there of about a quarter of a million people, beautiful portion of southern Chile if you've been here. Port

Avadas (ph), about 40,000 people call this area home. We have multiple lakes, second largest lake in Chile, multiple snowcapped mountains,

beautiful time of the autumn season to visit here.

But again, there is the volcano right there. In fact, there is a secondary volcano behind it. That one hasn't erupted since the 1860s as

well. But you see how close it is, within a few kilometers of the evacuation zone.

So here is the perspective across the Chilean volcano. First eruption since '72. Previous eruption before that was 1961. And only ten times

since the 1830s have we seen Calbuco erupt. And once you get to the top of it, this is pretty impressive -- can you imagine this -- 400 to 500 meters,

that's how wide the summit crater of this volcano is when it comes to that. And that literally can put four to five football fields atop this volcano.

But again, good news right now, nothing in the way of injuries or damage to tell you about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: All right, Pedram Javaheri there.

Friday marks two very different centennials for neighboring Armenia and Turkey as Armenians ready themselves to remember a mass killing at the

hands of the Turks, a ceremony in Turkey strikes a much different tone. It has been a century since Turkey's Ottoman forces scored a major military

victory over allied powers a Gallipoli during World War I.

And keep in mind it was just last week that the pope sparked a diplomatic row with Turkey by using the word genocide to characterize the

killing of Armenians back in 1915.

And with more on that here's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:36] ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The music as haunting for those who don't understand the lyrics as it is for those for

whom the suffering has no words.

The concert, one of many events commemorating a horror of a century ago. The descendants of those who perished then among the audience.

For decades, many of the Armenians who survived and stayed in Turkey kept their true identity a secret. Among them, ... grandmother.

FEHTIYE CETIN, TURKISH ARMENIAN LAWYER (through translator): She was 9 during the 1915 genocide. She was taken from our family and raised

Muslim.

DAMON: (inaudible) did not her true heritage until she was in her twenties.

CETIN (through translator): My first reaction was shock, total shock. We did not know anything about the 1915 reality. This information was

hidden from us in school. I had to stop myself from going out to the streets and screaming the truth.

DAMON: As the Ottoman empire crumbled, more than 1.5 million Armenians died. Some were brutally massacred, others sent a march through

the desert to their death.

Generations later, their tragedy remains embroiled in an intense debate over calling it a genocide.

The Turkish state rejects that it was a genocide, saying there were hundreds of thousands of Christians and Muslims killed during that bloody

World War I era. But society today is changing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is the passport that, yeah, the family use it to escape. It was a kind of family passport. So my grandfather is the one

in the far left. He has his child.

DAMON: Noriar Chahenin (ph), a Brazilian-Armenian photographer, spend four years shooting these images. About to go on display in Istanbul.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tried to find the Armenian quarters. We tried to find the Armenian house.

DAMON: His grandparents all survivors of 1915. His deceased grandfather a photographer himself, the black and whites taken with his

camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I kind of weighed the decision to bring his camera was a tribute to bring his eyes to his hometown.

DAMON: Chahenin (ph) came in search of stones and walls, of Armenian buildings that would tell the secrets within. Those that he found,

stubborn shells that refused to be completely destroyed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So in a kind of way if it was a plan of extermination it was failed, but yes, the emptiness, the power of

emptiness, you know, there is a lot of power in that (inaudible) and the sadness.

DAMON: A power that today cannot be denied, a power that is driving the quest for justice and reconciliation.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Moving pictures there.

You're watching News Stream. And up next, South Korean investigators are blaming the north for two major cyber attacks, and now CNN has gained

exclusive access to the actual code used by the hackers. Hear what an expert has to say about the dangers they pose.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:17] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. You're back watching News Stream.

Now the Apple Watch arrives to consumers tomorrow. And the highest end one is made of gold, and it costs up to $17,000. It's an unusual price

for a gadget, but not for luxury watches, which often cost far more than even the most expensive Apple Watch.

There's a key difference, though, luxury watches can last for years, even pass between generations, and the Apple Watch -- well, many expect

Apple to introduce an updated version next year.

So how do fans of luxury watches feel about the Apple Watch?

Well, joining me today is Benjamin Clymer, he is a leading voice in the wrist watch industry. And he joins me now live from New York.

And Benjamin, thank you so much for joining us.

You're not a gadget guy. You are a self-proclaimed watch guy. And you've covered high-end wrist watches extensively, but you've also reviewed

the Apple Watch. So what do you make of the Apple Watch?

BENJAMIN CLYMER, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR WATCH HODINKEE: Well, I think just to be clear, I am absolutely a gadget guy. And the mechanical

watch is arguably the original gadget. You know, the mechanical watch offered complications, things that, you know, could time intervals, they

could keep track of dates for many years without resetting.

So the watch is arguably the original gadget. So in many ways I am absolutely a gadget guy.

At the core of it, I will say that I am kind of more partial towards mechanical objects, things that don't require a microprocessor or a

battery, such as a mechanical watch or a gauge or something like that.

The Apple Watch, I will say, I've seen it a few times now. I'll have one relatively soon. It is an exceptional piece of work. It's an

exceptional piece of design.

I don't really consider it a watch in the same way that the watch that I'm wearing today is a watch. It happens to tell time. It happens to live

on your wrist, but beyond that, there's really very few similarities.

LU STOUT: Let's talk about another entrant in the market, the watchmaker Tag Heuer, the Swiss watchmaker, is creating a smartwatch with

its partners Google and Intel. How do you think they're going to reinterpret the smartwatch?

CLYMER: Well, you know, I've spoken with some people behind the scenes at Tag Heuer about this. And you know they're to really segment the

idea of a smartwatch into multiple different tiers.

So in the same way that you can buy a mechanical watch for $500 for $500,000, you know, they want to create something that lives between tiers.

So the Apple Watch will be completely digital, certainly, it will be able to do just about everything as anybody could imagine. The Tag Heuer

Google Intel smartwatch will be very different. it will look very much like a traditional mechanical watch and it will be able to do just a few

things that are really at like kind of core competencies. It'll be an activity tracker that happens to look like a fine Swiss watch.

So it's really a very different product. I think it's very smart for Tag Heuer to segment this category in this way, because I think a lot of

people are saying, OK, well there's no way they can compete with Apple, which I think we would all agree with. But they're not actually trying to

compete with Apple, they're trying to kind of come up with a hybrid that has the aesthetics and the form and the beauty of a traditional fine watch,

but some, not all, of the functionality of an Apple Watch or other Android- based watches.

[08:25:14] LU STOUT: And whether it's a pure play smartwatch, or more of a hybrid model, are smatwatches in general a threat to real watches,

especially high end traditional watches?

CLYMER: You know, I don't think they're a threat to high, high end watches. And by high end I mean, you know, $5,000, $6,000 and up. I think

they are absolutely a threat to watches in general. In mass, certainly, the Swatch watches, the Cintos (ph), the Casios of the world, the Nixons,

these lower end kind of fashion watches that are priced around the same as the Apple Watch and just cannot compare in terms of functionality, design

quality, the build quality even, to the Apple Watch.

Absolutely the Apple Watch is a threat to them.

And I think long-term, you know, as we see what this apple watch can do for people, including you know the health aspect, which I think is

really X factor, we could see it really eat away at traditional watchmakers' proverbial pie.

I will say that, you know, I think the brands like a Rolex and a Tag Heuer and Omega, Patek Philippe, these brands that have been around for

really ten generations plus. You know, survive through wars, survived through plagues, things like that. They will always survive. They might

just become an even more niche product. And keep in mind they're already extremely niche.

So we might see them you know kind of dwindle down their production, but really focus on the purists.

LU STOUT: But that's -- you just mentioned that, you know, these products, the high end watches, they can last generations. What's your

thinking about the Apple Watch. How long will it last?

CLYMER: Well, and that's kind of the question that we all want to know. And, you know, the traditional life cycle of an Apple product, the

phone, computer, it could be anywhere between, you know, 18 months to five years. You know, my MacBook Air I've had for going up on six years, which

is a long time for a digital product.

The Apple Watch is certainly a digital product. And, you know, some of which cost many thousands of dollars, the addition of course. I don't

know that they will be able to even come close to the longevity of a mechanical watch, but I think that's OK. You know, I think that's not the

point. I don't think Apple is trying to project any, you know, false pretenses about the longevity of the life cycle. It's just, you know, the

Apple Watch Edition, the $17,000 watch as we've mentioned, is something for a very particular consumer. It is not for people that are looking for

value. For $17,000 you can buy a mechanical watch that will certainly last you, you know, multiple generations, really in perpetuity with basic

maintenance.

So, it's a very different product.

You know, I think that the Apple Watch Edition is a status symbol, it's for somebody that is looking for something that is just totally unique

and totally different than everything else. But I don't expect it to be lasting.

LU STOUT: Got it.

Well, Ben, really, really appreciate your analysis ahead of the Apple Watch launch tomorrow. Your insight is really refreshing to hear.

And Ben Clymer joining us live from New York. A watch guy and also a gadget guy, appreciate your spirited defense of mechanical watches. Thank

you so much. Take care.

CLYMER: My pleasure.

LU STOUT: Now Google just unveiled its new wireless network. It says the project is called Fi. It will make staying connected easier. The

network, it finds free wi-fi hotspots and automatically connects you when you're in the range.

But what makes Project Fi convenient is that it keeps your phone number in the cloud, meaning any connected device you have can work as your

phone. However, these experimental program is limited to Nexus 6 users right now at the moment.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, CNN takes an exclusive look at malicious code used by hackers to breach South

Korea's nuclear operator. Is it really the work of Pyongyang?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:01] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Malta has held a multi faith funeral for 24 victims of a ship that capsized. More than 800 passengers are believed to have drowned in that

tragedy. The European migration commissioner attended the funeral, that as EU leaders prepared to hold emergency talks on the migrant crisis.

The Saudi-led coalition is still pounding Houthi targets on the ground despite saying two days ago that it would end its air campaign in Yemen.

Now residents told the Reuters news agency that airstrikes hit targets around the cities of Aden and Ibib. Officials with Yemen's defense

ministry say Houthi positions in three parts of Sanaa were also hit. Agence France Presse has similar reports from Taiz.

Australia's once in a decades storm has left a quarter of a million people without power in Sydney and nearby areas. Authorities say it'll be

days before they can reach the thousands of people stranded by flood waters. Now Tuesday's powerful storm, it killed four and washed away

houses and cars.

South Korean investigators blame North Korea for two major cyber attacks over the past two years. And now CNN has exclusively obtained the

codes from those hacks and asked a cyber security expert to trace their origin.

Paula Hancocks has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: March 20, 2013, the systems crashed. Screens went dark, all data was gone. A cyber attack on

South Korean banks and media, which were soon being blamed on Kim Jong-un.

The North Korean leader had already been threatening nuclear war as tensions between the two countries were at the highest level in years.

December 2014, South Korea's nuclear powerplants take a cyberhit, blue prints are posted online. Last month Seoul said it believes that, too, was

the work of North Korea. Pyongyang denies both attacks.

South Korean investigative authorities have given CNN exclusive access to the malicious codes from both incidents. But if we were download these

ourselves, our computers and our network would be instantly infected.

We gave them to digital forensic expert Joshua James to read and analyze. James says the codes used on banks and media known as Dark Seoul

were very advanced and would have taken months to prepare.

JOSHUA JAMES, DIGITAL FORENSICS EXPERT: I was designed to infect as many machines as possible as fast as possible, right. And then on a set

date, it was designed to destroy as many computers as possible.

If it infected more financial systems, it could have deleted all financial data in Korea. I mean, it is dangerous.

HANCOCKS: Experts say Kim Jong-un has invested heavily in his cyber army. South Korea's defense ministry estimates an army of 6,000 computer

experts.

This map, compiled by James, marks the IP addresses used in recent hacks, showing cyber warfare is a global problem.

South Korean authorities say the attack on its nuclear powerplants originated from IP address in northeast China, which they believe has been

frequently used by North Korean hackers. But without full cooperation from China, proving it is almost impossible, says James.

JAMES: Most of the time, if there's an IP address in China, the investigation pretty much stops in terms of criminal investigations.

HANCOCKS: And while James found no smoking gun pointing to North Korea just within these codes, he says it is possible both Koreas are

conducting cyber war espionage.

JAMES: I think most, at least developed countries, have and are using cyber armies.

HANCOCKS: So everybody is hacking everybody?

JAMES: Yeah, basically.

HANCOCKS: Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a cybersecurity bill in the wake of several high profile breaches of

government and corporate computer networks.

Now the measure, it allows private companies to share information about threats to their networks with other private entities and the federal

government. But neither the National Security Agency nor the Department of Defense could be privy to the information.

Now, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is said to unveil the Pentagon's new cyber strategy. It is expected to expand defense measures

already in place as well as focus on deterrents and foster stronger collaboration with foreign allies.

And turning to British politics now, the latest Ugov UK poll shows a tight race between the Conservatives and Labour. Now the Conservative

Party has a 1 point lead, but that's within the margin of error. UKIP is currently third with a clear lead over the Liberal Democrats and the Green

Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:35:50] CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A nation decides: the UK is gearing up for one of the closest fought general

elections in decades. Join me and my colleague Max Foster as we host an interactive debate.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A panel of politicians from the leading parties will have their say. And a representative

audience will be voting in real-time on the issues that matter most to them.

AMANPOUR: So join us for a night of technical wizardry, and no doubt heated political views.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And, you can join the conversation, just log on to Facebook.com/CNNi. It starts Friday 4:30 p.m. in London, 5:30 Central

European Time. And then stay tuned for the CNN Election debate airing a couple hours later.

Now, YouTube hits a major milestone today -- can you believe it's been 10 years since its very first video was uploaded? After the break, we'll

show you that video and tell you where YouTube is headed from here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now a 19 second video clip gave birth to the massive social media platform that is YouTube. 10 years ago today, the company's co-creator

Jawed Karim uploaded and starred in this video called "Me at the Zoo." If you watch it, it's pretty mundane fare, but this has been viewed more than

19 million times.

Every minute, YouTube's more than 1 billion users upload 300 hours worth of content, that's more than 12 times what it was just five years

ago.

Now part of YouTube's appeal is a growing pool of original content. And now the site is partnering with a Japanese film studio to provide sets

and more for YouTube features.

Now Will Ripley had a chance to go behind the scenes to find out more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on the set of a new sci-fi horror film.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's called The Crawler in the Dark.

RIPLEY: Set more than 100 years ago in Japan's Meiji era.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you, you are different.

RIPLEY: This movie isn't coming to theaters, it's coming to YouTube.

DAVID MACDONALD, HEAD OF YOUTUBE SPACES, ASIA PACIFIC: YouTube is not, you know, only cats and dogs on skateboards anymore, it's a place for

great high quality content.

RIPLEY: David MacDonald runs this YouTube Space in Tokyo, one of five worldwide offering partners of the video sharing website free studio use in

training.

MACDONALD: Helping creators find better audiences, more audiences and just improve their craft.

RIPLEY: Anyone can create a YouTube channel. The most popular, 25- year-old Swedish gamer Pewtie Pie (ph) has more than 36 million subscribers.

YouTube has 300 hours of video uploads per minute. The website wants more of those videos to be polished productions like this.

They provide hair, makeup, even professional customers. Getting into this kimono takes about 10 minutes.

[08:40:17] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this stone. Look at it.

RIPLEY: Film and TV company Towe (ph) is partnering with YouTube to encourage more Japanese samurai dramas called Jidaigeki. They hope to

attract new subscribes in one of YouTube's biggest markets.

BOB WERLEY, ACTOR: We're building sets. We have high quality cameras, high quality editing, high quality actors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh yes, most definitely.

RIPLY: Bob Werley and Masa Hitokowahata (ph) hope higher quality work will appeal to more of YouTube's 1 billion monthly users.

WERLEY: It's going to raise the bar.

RIPLEY: And possibly raise money.

Thousands of the most popular YouTube creators earn six figure incomes through ad revenue and sponsorships, a handful make millions.

JR LEPARTITO, DIRECTOR: Pushing our boundaries further than we ever have before. We're doing visual affects that we've never tried before.

RIPLEY: JR Lepartito says expensive period sets like this used to be out of reach for Indy filmmakers like him.

LEPARTITO: It really breaks down the barriers.

RIPLEY: And, he says it makes the quality of his work better.

LEPARTITO: Excellent, excellent.

RIPLEY: Something even more important to these artists than making the next viral video.

LEPARTITO: And cut.

RIPLEY: Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I wonder what that plot is all about.

Now before we go let's take a moment to check out YouTube's most viewed sensations over the past decade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOY: Ow, Charlie, Ow. Charlie. That really hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And Charlie smiles -- Charlie bit my finger is the top amateur upload watched more than 816.5 million times.

And the all-time number one so far.

Yeah, you guessed it, Korean pop star Psy with the much imitated Gangnam Style. And to date YouTube users have watched it 2 billion times.

Man, we need a new number one.

Now that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is up next.

END